Beautiful Deception - Bethany Ford Book 2 (Young Justice Fan Fiction)
by petvet2b25
Summary: Continuation of Bethany Ford Book! (Blurb is in the first chapter!)
1. Blurb

Bethany Ford, now 18, has had a lot to deal with in her life. After running away from her abusive family, she falls into a whole new dimension. In this new dimension, she's been chased, shot at, stabbed a couple times, faced off with magical opponents, been on the brink of death (multiple times), and has experienced loss. But right when she thinks she's gotten past all of that, she gets hit again.

But this time, from her old dimension. When old family ties show up demanding attention and giving hopeful promises, how will Bethany decide? Is her dad dead? If not, then where has he been when she has needed him most? What is this H.U.S.H. organization that he worked for?

Back in her new dimension, there's an impending doom for the Team and even for the Justice League themselves. The Light has been building their army, but when will they reveal themselves? And who will prevail?

With new teammates in addition to the older ones, Bethany's life gets pretty hectic, especially with high school graduation around the corner. There's a growing friction within the Team and arguments and conflict arise, almost splitting the Team. And on top of all of that, the Team becomes most vulnerable when one by one, they all start to mysteriously disappear. Will Bethany be able to save all her friends before what happened to her dad happens to them?

Unravel the secrets behind her father's disappearance and help save the Team!

Without further ado... a mysterious, thrilling, and dauntless novel. Try to stay TRAUGHT.

[A Dick Grayson love story - and other characters included]

[This is the second book of the Bethany Ford series. It is suggested that you read the first one! It's under my books, so have fun!]


	2. Prologue

**(Time zone: Right after the first book)**

 **Unknown POV:**

The flash of light blinded me, but I forced myself not to show it. After all, I couldn't show any signs of weakness in this new world. I would have to arrive with a sense of power and authority over these future allies. These future, powerful, new, and unfamiliar allies.

The band loosened around my chest, giving me the slightest sense of relief. The feeling of the boom tube was nothing compared to the suffering I'd been through in my life.

And it wasn't anything like the suffering I'd put my two daughters through either. Although, Cheshire came out better than the other one.

I smirked at the thought of them. In a way, I was still proud that Artemis came out to be just as vicious as Cheshire was, but she was still on the wrong side. In my book, that was still a failure of a child.

When the light from the portal dissipated, I put on my metal mask again, hiding my identity from these foreign aliens from this other Earth dimension.

Behind me, Cheshire walked out, her facial expression hidden by her mask, so I couldn't see how she was affected by the portal. Following her were Lex Luthor and other soldiers. The soldiers, Cheshire, and I were all simply protection for Luthor. Luthor would be the head negotiator for the Light.

I sighed in boredom as Luthor stumbled out of the portal before straightening out. He brushed off his suit jacket and straightened his tie carefully and nervously. Clearly, Luthor had felt the effects of the portal. I smirked under my mask. The man was getting old.

I wished Psimon would have just taken this job. A telepath with his power would be much easier and efficient than bringing an entire army, but he said he couldn't come because his stupid powers got messed up whenever he came to this world. How that would happened, I had no clue. He was probably just too lazy and wanted me to take the job instead. I huffed in annoyance, clenching my fists. That stupid telepath.

Once everyone stepped out of the portal, I pushed a button on the Motherbox, turning off the bright light of the portal, casting all of us into the dim darkness of the warehouse we had arrived in.

Turning around with the others, I waited. They'd be here anytime now. If anything, they're probably already here, lurking in the shadows and sizing us up to see our weaknesses. But that's fine. They could try to defeat us.

They don't know the power of the Light.

"Hello there." A voice called out from the depths of darkness of the warehouse.

Everyone automatically formed a protective circle around Lex. I peered around the dim room, a few lights hanging from the high ceilings above, and waited for the hidden man to come out.

"We've been expecting you."

A big man came out of the shadows. He was a big and strong looking man, in a giant suit that had to have been tailored to fit his size. Even though he was big, I probably could have easily swept him off his feet and crushed his skull. But one look in his dark eyes and I knew that he wouldn't go down without a fight. And he would put up a big and bloody one.

A few slim assassins, simple black masks tied around their heads, shimmied out of nowhere and to his side. All around us, others silently dropped from seemingly thin air and landed on the crates above us and onto the ground around us. They were all crouched in a ready position, as if ready to pounce if we made any sudden movements.

Their sizes seemed to be like little children, but to Hell. They were supposed to be just as deadly as Cheshire, so it was worth all the trouble of coming here.

"Sportsmaster, stand down." Lex pushed my back a little, signaling for me to move aside. I moved and Lex stepped out of the protective circle, walking fearlessly right up to the man opposite us. "After all, these are our... allies."

"Ah. I see you have made your decision." The big man's voice boomed around the vast, dimly lit room.

"Yes, the Light has agreed to the terms of trade. We will arrive to take the packages once every month. We will be expecting the best every time. If the weapons fail, then we will have to halt trade and terminate our relationship." Lex stepped closer to the man and put out his hand for a shake.

The man opposite him looked annoyed for a split second, before plastering on a big smile and clasping Lex's hands in his burly ones; they shook on it.

"Let's not think of things like that now. After all, we both rely on each other. We provide the weapons, you give us the financial aid we need. If one fails to provide, then both will fall. " The man reminded Luthor. Luthor looked caught off guard for a moment, but quickly recovered.

"So, as promised?" Lex asked after they stepped back to their respective groups.

"Yes, as promised, trade will commence today. We have prepared the first package for you." The big man motioned behind him and three slim figures stepped forward, heads bowed in submission.

All right, the idea that these tiny children were supposed to be "deadly" was really getting to me. How in the world were these kids supposed to fight? I stepped forward and spoke my mind.

"These are just kids! How do we know they'll do the job like you say they will?" I said, crossing my big arms in boredom.

The large man smiled a sinister grin, as if he had been waiting for someone to ask that very question. "Oh, would you like a foretaste of their abilities?" He motioned to the middle one, the smallest, to step forward. It did so without a word and without lifting it's head up. "Choose your warrior."

From behind me, Cheshire pushed two of Luthor's soldiers into the middle. I'm pretty sure their names were Gil and Fred. They looked unsure for a second, but reluctantly took fighting positions on either side of the small child. They nodded at each other and they both attacked the child at the same time.

The child didn't even look up.

It spun underneath both of them and grabbed the shirt of Gil while kicking Fred square in the face. Then it twisted Gil, whose shirt was still in his hand, around and pushed him to his knees, bending the arm back in the process until there was a sharp snap! that sounded around the warehouse.

The child had broken the Gil's arm.

Fred rushed towards the child, but the child somersaulted over him and, after landing, swept him from under his feet. The child sprang up and landed its foot on Fred's stomach, blood splurting from his mouth and splattering onto the concrete floor.

The child stood back up and didn't once raise its head. It just stood straight and looked down quietly.

The room was dead silent.

Lex Luthor cleared his throat and stepped forward, unimpressed. "So, they are merely trained assassins? Please enlighten me. How would they be able to go against our superpowered enemies?"

"Ah, but that's where it gets interesting. Those are only the ungifted ones. We have ones that contain very... special gifts." The burly man motioned behind him.

A small girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes came forward. She looked straight into my eyes, anger burning from them.

"Imbecile! Submit to your masters!" The big man shouted at the girl. He smacked the back of her head, hard, and her head snapped down into submission, her hair hanging limply around her face. "Now do your job." He snapped his fingers at the two soldiers moaning on the ground.

She slowly lifted her fingers towards them. Slowly but surely, Fred's leg began to turn white.

"What's she doing?" Cheshire whispered next to me. I didn't answer. I only smiled. This was great show.

Fred began to cry out in pain. "My leg! It's frozen! It's eating me alive!"

I looked into the eyes of the girl, who was still concentrated on freezing Fred alive. There was not an ounce of sympathy or emotion in the girl's face. No contorted pained expression because of the fact that she was coating someone alive in ice. Nothing. Her face was completely blank and heartless. And she only looked to be about seven years old.

I grinned. Oh this girl would do just fine for the Light.

Soon, Fred's cries died out and he was just left, frozen on the ground, his face forever in a terrified expression of pain and horror.

The girl put her hand down and kept her head down.

Then Lex Luthor started clapping slowly, but tauntingly. "Well done, young one." Then he turned to the big man, "These weapons will do just fine."

"That was only a foretaste. We have armies waiting to be traded in the future, if we continue our relationship."

Sensing the end to the meeting, I activated the Motherbox, opened a boom tube, and started to walk back into the blinding light of the portal.

"Sir, what should we do with him?" Another soldier asked me. He was pointing to Gil who was still on the floor. His eyes were pleading for help and his arm dangled at a weird angle beside him.

"Please, help me! I can't get up!" He cried out. He pleaded for help over and over again, but no one dared to move.

Fine, let him plead.

"Leave him," I waved him away and turned to head back into the Boom Tube. The cries from Gil echoed throughout the entire warehouse. His voice was suddenly cut off. Someone probably killed him. Good, his voice was annoying anyways.

The others started to follow, and the four packages started to walk with us towards the light of the boom tube opening. But before walking in, I looked back at the scene of children. The rest of them were hooded in the shadows.

One looked up and I caught its eyes.

They were souless eyes. Eyes that used to be human, but now did not contain any light. But instead of feeling any sympathy for the child, I only felt humor.

I even let loose an airy laugh.

The Justice League and their little pets wouldn't know what hit them.

 **HAVE YOU GUYS MISSED ME?**

 **Who are these people? What are your thoughts for the future?! Comment and compare to others!**

 **There's a lot in store for you guys!**

 **:)**


	3. Chapter 1: Back At It

**WELCOME BACK TO THE WORLD OF BETHANY FORD! BUT EVEN BETTER! :) and more hot Dick Grayson... :) ;)**

 **I just wanted to thank all of those loyal fans who stayed with me, even through the SUPER long break I took from writing this book. I can't do a shoutout like I originally planned to because there were just TOO MANY of you guys that voted and commented and followed! I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **I've missed you guys so much!**

 ***Two years after the fight with Kelli.***

 **Bethany's POV:**

The light was bouncing harshly off the pavement. An aura of power, authority, and professionalism emanated from the large tinted glass building that was glimmering against the sunlight. But despite all of the building's beauty, it was still a kingdom of secrets. After all, this was where my father died. Maybe. That's what we were here to find out.

I took a deep nervous breath. I looked down at my crazy disguise again: a black suit jacket, freshly ironed white blouse, a black pencil skirt (a little too short for my comfort), and black Louis Vuitton pumps that made my feet sweat, and an obnoxious Gucci purse was hanging from my elbow. I felt like I was Barbie dressed as a business woman.

"Ugh, why do I have to be dressed like this?" I breathed into my comms unit. It was concealed with a business looking bluetooth earpiece. I felt like I couldn't breathe right in the pushup bra that Zatanna had dressed me in that morning. I was really hating the fact that Bruce was ultra rich and had entrusted Zatanna to buy me an "expensive business outfit." According to Bruce, everyone that worked at this place was super successful, so I had to wear similar clothing.

"You need to look the part." Bruce's monotone voice floated into my ear.

"In my eyes, she only stands out more." A low voice said near me. I looked over at Dick's towering figure. He was wearing a dark suit, which really accentuated his broad shoulders and fit body. He was lean, slim, and toned, and his muscles were more defined now. His dark hair had grown until it curled at the base of his neck. He towered over me, a figure of pure power and strength. His electric blue eyes were looking me over approvingly. He'd really grown in the past two years.

"If anything," He continued, "She looks even sexier."

I punched him, ignoring the blush creeping across my face. He threw his head back and laughed at my reaction.

"Ew, ugh, yuck! Remember that we can hear you, too!" Tim's boyish voice called in the comms unit.

"Oh give them a break, Robin," Barbara's amused voice sounded in my ear, "They're young and in loooove!" She sing-songed. Her and Tim laughed together. You could hear Bruce's sighs at how childish we all were.

Dick's cocky grin hadn't left his face the entire time. He took a step towards me and put a hand on my cheek, guiding me to face him. He leaned in close, saying, "You do look really pretty."

I took a step away from him, clutching the Gucci purse (that Zatanna had also bought with Bruce's money) tightly to keep from shaking nervously.

"Well, don't get used to it," I managed to say, "I'm not wearing this stuff again."

Dick pouted, "Why not?"

"This is definitely not my style. This is more of Zatanna's style."

"Here let me take your purse. You're shaking. And I'm bored..." Dick haled out his hand towards me.

I extended the purse towards him, and sure enough, my arm was shaking.

Dick looked at me curiously. He knew I was nervous, but didn't ask. He knew I would just say that I was fine. He knew me too well.

"You ready?" He asked.

"Yeah," I mumbled.

Dick put on a fake earpiece over his real comms unit and put a pair of aviator sunglasses on, completing his look. He looked hot. I shook my head. I needed to focus! I tossed my long, loosely curled hair (curled by Zatanna) over my shoulder and straightened up, forcing my nervous emotions down and plastering on my best business expression. Together, Dick and I walked through the large, glimmering glass doors of the Ravens Corporation Law Firm building.

 **Flashback - Two hours ago**

 **Bethany's POV:**

"After two years of research and preparation, we will finally be heading back to Bethany's old world to investigate the scene. Bethany's father worked at a law firm owned by Ravens Corporation." Batman motioned to the big screen in the middle of the main training room.

Around me, the original Team stood in a semicircle around Batman as he gave the mission briefing. M'gann and Superboy next to each other, Artemis and Wally, Aqualad, and me and Nightwing.

Artemis choked on her water and stepped forward. "Wait, hold on." Her familiar long blonde hair tumbled down her back. She crossed her arms, always looking up for a challenge, "Just how big is this Ravens Corporation?"

"Big." Batman replied. "It's the equivalent to our world's Wayne Enterprises."

Artemis' eyebrows went up. "Oh."

Batman turned back to the screen, pulling up blueprints of the tall glass building. "A small team will infiltrate the building undercover. This mission is strictly a cov-ops mission. No one is to engage. Understood?" He peered around critically.

"Okay okay! Let's get this show on the road!" Wally zoomed away and was back in a split second. He had changed into his hero costume, arms crossed. "What are we waiting for?"

Next to me, Dick stifled a laugh and I nudged him to be quiet. In response, Dick hung his arm around my shoulders, smiling down at me lovingly with his blazing blue eyes. My heart never failed to pound anytime he touched me.

"I didn't say everyone was going." Batman said, clearly unamused."Me, Huntress, Nightwing, Robin, and Batgirl will be taking this mission."

"What?! So I changed for nothing?!" Wally whined. You would have never thought that we were 18 year olds.

"No problem," Zatanna said on the other side of me. She waved her fingers at Wally and said, "Kcab sehtolc sih egnahc!" She smiled proudly.

Wally was back in his normal civilian clothes in an instant. He smiled back at Zatanna, saying a quick "thanks" before turning back to Batman. "What, you don't trust anyone outside the Bat-family?" Wally joked, nudging Artemis who just looked annoyed at his obnoxious behavior.

"I've trained them to work together and I've trained them in the art of covert operations myself." Batman replied.

"But we've been training together as a team for about two years, too!" Wally countered.

He had a point, but Batman didn't respond. Instead, Batman glared at Wally, as if to dare him to continue talking.

"Okay, okay! Geez..." Wally mumbled, "It's like he's burning my soul..."

I couldn't have agreed with that statement any more.

 **Back to the present**

 **Bethany's POV:**

Right as we entered, we were met with a fierce wall of security. Dick emotionlessly put my purse down on the conveyor belt and it went through the security machine. It came out onto the other side, not raising a single bell. I walked through the metal detector quietly and no alarms went off.

Ahead, there was a security guard who was taking fingerprints and asking questions to whoever passed. Behind me, Dick passed through the metal detector safely.

I flashed my fake badge in front of the security guard and placed my hand on the handprint scanner. No alarms went off, so I continued towards the elevators, Dick noiselessly trailing behind.

We walked over to the elevators and Dick pushed the up button and we stepped into the waiting elevator.

"Whew, that was nerve-racking." I managed to say as the doors closed. Dick just looked over at me curiously.

"How do you feel about coming here?"

I carefully peeled off the plastic sticker from my hand that I had put on earlier, which allowed me to have fake fingerprints. "I'm anxious. Nostolgic. Slightly paranoid." I sighed. "But most of all, I'm ready to get some answers."

We arrived on our floor and Dick led the way to the balcony overlooking the lobby and the entrance of the buiding. The lobby was a mess, with so many people walking in and out of the building.

Batman entered the lobby dressed in a formal and expensive looking suit and a pair of new glasses. The way he walked and the way he held himself as he walked past security held me in awe. Who knew he could be so professional?

A slim woman and a broad shouldered man walked towards Bruce and they shook hands. I couldn't make them out from up here.

"Who was that lady and that man?" I asked Dick. We didn't turn away from the balcony because we were still looking for Tim.

"That was a one of the businessmen of Ravens Corporation and his assistant. I think they'll be talking business with Batman." Dick replied.

There was the droning of Batman talking with this man and his assistant in the elevator, but I ignored it, focusing more on the approaching group of kids coming into the building.

"There's Robin." I pointed down to the doors again.

A school of middle school looking kids walked in, all in matching blue t-shirts. Tim walked in, a black baseball cap pulled over his dark hair, wearing jeans, and a matching blue t-shirt. He trailed near the back of the group of kids, unnoticed. They were taking a tour of the famous Ravens Corporation building.

"Huh," Dick said next to me, a smile in his voice, "He looks scrawnier than usual, doesn't he?"

"I can hear you, you know. You're wearing a comms unit." Tim's voice drawled dryly.

"Oh, must've forgotten." Dick said lightly.

I shook my head. Boys.

The elevator dinged and my heart stopped. Dick stiffened.

"So you see, Mr. Wayne, we take our company very seriously." A female voice floated over to us. I sensed the three people heading towards us.

I couldn't help it. I turned to see who it was. Who was this lady was that was talking to Bruce and what did thus businessman look like? Would they have known my father? Curiosity got the better of me.

The lady was nearing six feet tall. She wore gray striped business pants, pointy-toed black pumps that were higher than mine, and a low cut white blouse that revealed an eyeful of cleavage. Her long cocoa hair was in large waves that gracefully tumbled down her back and over her shoulders, almost reaching her waist, and her skin was an exotic mocha brown. She was the definition of exquisite beauty and elegance.

But something was off. There was a familiar air about her, but I couldn't quite remember where I'd seen her before.

The man with broad shoulders had waves of power and authority rolling off of him. He looked a little older than Bruce, but just as firm, and he was close to seven feet. He was huge, his arms as burly as Dick's and Bruce's combined, and his eyes were cold and powerful, demanding attention. I felt like I should have been bowing to him or something. His suit looked equally as expensive as Bruce's. He was raw powerful.

The three of them continued walking towards us, heading to the offices further down the hall behind us.

"So can you tell me about some of your best products, Mr. Ravens?" Bruce asked.

Wait, did he just say Ravens?! As in the Ravens that this entire corporation was run by?!

"Please," Mr. Ravens' voice boomed, demanding to be listened to, "Call me Drexel."

Now, I really felt like I should be bowing to him. This guy was freaking the Drexel Ravens!

"We have this 3D bioprinting machine that prints out hearts and brains by..." Drexel Ravens droned on in some kind of science language that I didn't even try to understand.

The beautiful lady looked at me and I met her eyes. I froze as recognition burned at the surface. Her perfectly dark arched eyebrows scrunched together and she blinked at me, as if she were trying to place where she'd seen me before. The lady slowed down to stare at me for so long that she started to trail behind the two business men.

"Jayden, are you coming?" Drexel had turned around and was waiting for her to catch up.

She shook her head and turned back to Drexel, flashing perfectly aligned teeth in a beautiful smile, "Of course. Sorry, sir."

Bruce looked back at me questioningly, but I shook my head.

The three of them continued their quest to a meeting room further down the hallway, leaving me wondering what had just happened between me and this Jayden lady.

 **Okay, I'll be posting my next chapter either late tonight or tomorrow! So stay tuned! And push that vote button, will ya? It keeps me going through my life... :)**

 **And lastly...**

 **STAY TRAUGHT**

(I've missed saying that SO FREAKING MUCH)


	4. Chapter 2: Caught

**Bethany's POV:**

Someone grabbed my hand and gently pulled me down in the opposite direction towards Drexel Ravens' office.

"What happened back there?" Dick asked quietly.

"I have no idea." I murmured, dazed.

We reached large double doors that had a handprint scanner and a keypad.

Dick pulled his suit jacket sleeve up and started tapping at his wrist. His digital computer popped out of his wrist and he started hacking away at the system.

Who was that woman? Her name was Jayden. Something was tickling my memories, but I just couldn't focus enough to try to remember. How would I know someone who had worked at my dad's office? I had never even been here before! And my father never introduced me to people from his work, so I don't know how in the world I would know that lady. I shook out of my thoughts. I needed to concentrate on the mission at hand.

When I refocused, I realized Dick was holding the door open to me. He had already hacked into the entire mainframe of the building in the time it took me to blink twice.

"I looped the video camera feeds for this area and turned off all the security for Drexel's office. We should be good to go." He said it like it was so easy.

"You're perfect." I sighed.

He swooped down and kissed me on the cheek quickly, sending electric tingles racing across my skin. He took off his sunglasses and put them in his suit jacket pocket. His blazing blue eyes peered deeply into my eyes with a hunger in them.

"Here, wear these. We don't want your real fingerprints all over the place." He picked up my hand and started to pull some thin black gloves over my hands. His warm touch on my hands sent my heart racing all over again. He never failed to make my heart race. I felt a heavy disappointment when he finished putting my gloves on and turned around to put his on, too. "I'll do the computer, you look around for something that might link him to the explosion."

He turned around and started tapping away on the computer. Instead of doing as I was told, I took a moment to stare at him. His tall, broad figure was bent over a large computer. His eyes were fixed intently on the computer screen as he pushed in a flashdrive to the computer. I loved the way his dark locks hung over his forehead in a way that they barely brushed his dark eyebrows. I examined the strong curve of his jaw and the way his full lips pursed in concentration -

Focus, Bethany! I mentally slapped myself in the face a hundred times. As I wandered around the large room, voices continued to chatter on the comms unit. The sound of Batman talking to Drexel about different products and the high pitched chattering voices of middle schoolers on a tour. I could even hear Barbara softly humming a catchy tune to herself. I vaguely remember Batman telling Barbara to stay outside the building at a cafe or something to overlook the entire mission. She had her computer and all her random complex gadgets.

I floated around the room, not really finding anything interesting. The room was huge and vast, but Drexel didn't have any pictures or books anywhere. There were sofas and tables chairs and general decorations everywhere. Nothing that was personal to Drexel at all. Huh, strange. I moved over to the desk, bumping Dick with my hip so that he'd scoot over.

There were locks on every. single. drawer. on this guy's desk.

"What a pain in the ass," I mumbled, taking two metal paper clips and a pen from the top of Drexel's desk.

"Yes, you do have a nice ass." Dick grinned beside me. My face flushed and I hit him in the arm out of embarrassment.

"Guys, we can still hear you." Barbara and Tim groaned at the same time. I heard Bruce cough.

It took a few minutes to open every drawer with the pen and paper clips, a trick I'd picked up back when I still lived at my momster and stepdad's house, and sifted through each one, but I still came up empty. Nothing of use in any of the draws.

I let a frustrated groan out and Dick wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Don't get mad," Dick said soothingly, playing with a curled strand of my long hair, "I have a feeling we'll get something off of these copied files I put on the flashdrive."

Dick turned back to the computer and started attaching his own wrist computer to it. I leaned into him while he worked, deciding to listen in on Bruce's conversation.

"Jayden, where are you going?" Drexel's voice sounded a little farther away.

"I'll be right back, I need to... use the restroom." Jayden's voice came a little muffled. There was silence for a few seconds and I heard a door shut.

"So I read up on the history of your company," Batman continued, "And I saw that there was an explosion that occurred many years ago. How do I know that some of your products are not going to fail us, like the explosion that occurred."

Oh, here we go. Batman was finally getting down to the root of why we were here in the first place.

"I can assure you that the explosion was not the result of one of our products."

"No?" Batman prompted.

"No, that was from -"

An extremely loud siren blared all over the building, sending a shockwave into our ears and even put a little static into our comms.

Dick's electric eyes locked onto my frantic ones. There was a fire blazing in his eyes and before I could get too mesmerized by it, he turned away and started to yank out all his wires from Drexel's computer. He tidied up the desk really fast so it didn't look like anyone had been there.

There was a sound at our door. Someone was trying to get in! Dick had locked the door with one of his own locks, but I didn't know how long the door would hold!

"What is this madness?!" Bruce's voice boomed in my ears. It sounded like he was angry, but underneath I could hear that he was just pretending. Good, he was going to use this alarm as a way of getting out of the building with an excuse.

There was a sound of a door being burst open on my comms unit and someone spoke loudly, "Sir, there's been a breach! Outsiders are in the building!"

My heart stopped. Did they mean us?

"What?!" Bruce feigned surprise, "Oh my-I will not be doing any business with someone that cannot even protect their own company!"

"Wait, no! This has never happened before, Mr. Wayne!" But Drexel's voice didn't sound like he really cared. He was too focused on something else.

A door slammed shut really loudly in my ears and I realized it was because Bruce had left the room.

"Huntress, Nightwing. Get back to Batgirl." Batman's assertive voice sounded in our ears. A little faded, I could hear Tim and the class that he was screaming..

"Huntress, Nightwing. can you get eyes on Drexel?" Batgirl asked me over the comms.

"Umm, we're a little busy right now," I whispered frantically.

Because there was someone trying really hard to get into our room, and there was no other way out for us.

 **More to come maybe tomorrow? I have about four chapter written, and then I'm going on a school trip from Monday to Friday! So I want to give you guys something to live off of while I'm gone.**

 **stay traught!**


	5. Chapter 3: Escape

**Bethany's POV:**

"Nightwing! What do we do?!" I seethed. I had an iron grip on his forearm, and I was pretty sure I was hurting him.

Instead of freaking out, like I was, he quickly looked around the room, running from corner to corner, trying to find a way out. We couldn't break the window, because then it would be too obvious that someone had been here. And even if we got out through the window, there was still a 35 floor drop.

"Here!" Dick said sharply. He pointed to an air vent high on the wall that was barely big enough to fit me.

"How in the world are you going to fit in there? It looks like it'll barely even fit me!" No way was I going to leave Dick, if that's what he was thinking.

But instead of saying some sort of dramatic goodbye, he simply winked at me and said, "You forget that I used to be an acrobat. Try me."

Well that was good enough to convince me. Without talking, we moved to get into position so that he could hoist me up to the vent. I took off my stupid high hells - oh, I meant "heels"- and stood on his knees and undid the vent and handed it to Dick. He hoisted me up to the vent and I barely squeezed through. I moved further down the air shaft, shoes in hand. And soon, I heard the sound of Dick coming in behind me. Okay, the space just felt a thousand times smaller. I think I developed claustrophobia right then and there.

"Are you okay?" I called over my shoulder.

There was the sound of the grate closing again and then Dick finally grunted out, "Just dandy. Please move forward, I can't breathe."

I didn't even wanna know how he was able to squeeze himself into this air shaft.

"You better not look up my skirt or anything." I warned. "I can kick you from here."

There was a mischivous laugh and then he remarked "Nice shorts you've got under there."

I tried and failed to kick him. Even in a tiny air shaft, he's quick to dodge. Ugh.

There was a bluish light that illuminated the tunnel. I couldn't look back so instead I called out, "What are you doing?"

"Pulling up the map of the building that I downloaded from the computer." There was a pause. And then, "Go forward and then make the first right."

Just then, there was the splintering noise of the door to Drexel Raven's office being burst open and there were the sounds of officers hustling. Immediately, Dick turned off his glowing map and without hesitation I shifted forward as quietly as I could.

Ever so slowly, we made our way through the maze of small tunnels. After a while, the air shaft started to open up and get taller. Soon, Dick and I were able to crawl through the tunnels on our hands and knees.

As soon as we were further enough away, the comms unit was alive with chatter.

"Where are you guys?" Tim's voice echoed in my comms unit.

"About to get out into the lobby," Dick replied.

As if on cue, there was a vent up ahead that, I assumed, opened up to the lobby.

"We're moving the rendezvous point a block further down." Batman said simply.

"What why?" I demanded. This was already bad enough. I'd be surprised if we were allowed to even leave the building at all at this point.

"Because the police and I'm pretty sure that's the SWAT team are all parked in front of the building." Barbara replied. I gasped and I accidentally hit my head on top of the low ceiling.

"What?!" I hissed.

"It's okay, just act natural." Dick said from behind me.

After looking to make sure no one was looking, I opened the vent and leapt out, eager to breath some fresh air.

I quickly slipped on my shoes and tried to adjust my blouse as Dick adjusted the air vent back in place and handed me my purse.

"Okay, let's go-"

"You! What are you guys doing here?" A police officer came out of nowhere.

My heart stopped beating and I'm pretty sure my face was as white as my blouse.

"And why do you guys look like that?" He pointed to my messy hair and my skirt that had been hiked up from crawling through the air vents. I looked over at Dick and his hair was a little messed up and part of his shirt was untucked. Aw shit. This is bad.

Dicks arm wrapped tightly around my waist in an almost PG13 way and he leaned in close to my face and nuzzled my hair. What the hell? Was he high or something?

Before I could shove him off, Dick replied coolly, "Well, we were in the bathroom together and we didn't know what was going on outside."

"What do you mean?" The officer furrowed his eyebrows and stepped closer.

"Well, how do we put it? We were... in our own little world..." He trailed off and gently moved my face to look at him. Before I could say anything, his lips crashed into mine and he started moving his lips passionately. I swear, I couldn't help it, but I started kissing him back, as if it were some sort of natural reaction. We were making out. Right in front of the officer. What was going on...?

"Okay, okay! I get the point." The officer said really loudly. He was already backing away.

Dick moved away from me and let go of my waist, a little smug smile on his lips. Damn that smirk.

"Evacuation started five minutes ago. All employees are to leave the building immediately and group with their supervisors." Then the police marched quickly away, probably scarred.

"Come on," Dick grabbed my hand and tugged me out of the building. My lips were still tingling and my face was still burning from the kiss. I was actually shaking a little.

As we sped away from the Ravens Corporation building, Dick squeezed my hand. "I'm really sorry I just kissed you like that out of the blue. You can hit me during training tomorrow if you want."

I cleared my throat, "I-It's okay."

"When in doubt, just make out...?" He perked an eyebrow over at me.

"No!" I punched him. "That is not a saying. If anything, only Wally would say something like that!"

Before he could say anything else, I smacked into someone. Like really ran into someone. It was a full-on-forehead-smack that was so hard that the other person fell to the ground and my head started to throb.

Dick caught me before I could topple to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"Ouch," I rubbed my forehead where I had smacked into the person.

"Owwwww. Ugh! Watch where you're going!" The person lying on the concrete snapped up at us.

That voice made me freeze in my tracks. Cold ice slithered down my back causing me to almost jump back and hide behind Dick. No way. She couldn't be here... Why?!

I would never forget that voice. It was from one evil person.

Ash.

 **Booyah! Hahahaha, it's time for you guys to meet the dreaded Ash! I hope you guys remember who she is. If not... you'll have to remember from the first book. You guys may need to remind each other of who she is!**

 **Keep calm and stay traught.**

 **:)**

 **XOXO**


	6. Chapter 4: Old Ties

**Sorry for the five day wait, guys! I was on this crappy retreat for my school with absolutely no wifi and no cell service** 😭 **. I'm currently on the bus ride back and I managed to get some cell service so I could update!**

 **Bethany's POV:**

Ash

Full name: Ashley Norwood.

Also known as Kick-Ash.

Bitch-Ash.

The true child of the Devil. She was an evil little fungus that used to haunt my dreams. She used to be the root of all my fears and problems in life. She was my prosecutor, my humiliator, and torturer. I almost killed myself because of this girl. This girl.

She was my step sister.

My vision turned red and angry and my heart started to pick up speed. I was shaking so much from the anguish I felt. How long had I dreamed of the moment where I would finally have the upper hand? How long had I wished that I could kick her butt into next week and still get away with it? Without Peter and Grace Norwood coming down on me like the fist of Hades? Now, the time had finally come.

Oh she was SO gonna get it. I'm gonna pummel my big ass fist into her big fat -

"Sorry about that." Dick curtly nodded and bent down to help Ash up from the concrete, obscuring my vision of her. I wanted to spin kick him in the head. Don't help that dumb piece of-

"Oh, thank you." A dangerously sweet voice floated into my ears. I hadn't heard that voice in exactly two years. And I already wanted to grab my ears and burn them so I didn't have to hear her voice anymore. Dick moved back to stand next to me, freeing my view of Ash.

Long shiny beach waves tumbled down her incredibly slim and tall body. Her hair had different shades of blonde blending together to create the most beautiful shade of exotic golden colored hair. She had curves in all the right places and she was almost a half head taller than me, just reaching Dick's eyebrows. Her skin was flawlessly pale and it almost seemed like she was glowing against the bright pavement. Her slim nose and perfectly arched eyebrows and red heart shaped lips made her look like a Victoria's Secret angel model. She had a lot of makeup on, but it didn't matter because she was so beautiful anyways. She was wearing super short cut off shorts and a revealing tank top with fashionable sneakers. Even in casual clothes, she looked utterly flawless. She had everything I didn't have.

Which made me hate her even more.

She was gorgeous. But she was dangerous.

Everything was picture perfect beauty, causing you to fall right into her claws. But I knew better. Regardless of her stunning body and beautiful hair, her eyes were the iciest shade of light blue. They were cold and dangerous. I had grown up seeing those startling eyes in my nightmares.

A pang of fear struck me in my heart, causing me to be short of breath. If she recognizes me... well, let's just hope she doesn't. Two years ago, I ran away from my step family and my mom-ster and then, using the Motherbox I had found, I fell into a whole new dimension. The police had been after me and I'm pretty sure everyone knew about my sudden disappearance. If she recognized me, then I would be in HUGE trouble when she called the cops saying that her long lost step sister that mysteriously disappeared has been found. I had grown a lot since the last time she'd seen me and I was wearing makeup, my hair was curled and it had naturally turned lighter, and I was wearing clothes I never imagined I would be in two years ago. Hopefully, it would mask who I was.

Ash gaped at Dick for a split second and then caught herself. She batted her long thick eyelashes up at Dick and said, "Oh, it was my fault. I should have also watched where I was going. Are you okay?" She morphed her face into something like a sweet baby angel and batted her eyelashes back up at Dick.

Dick didn't even blink. He was totally unfazed. I could kiss him again just for that.

"We're fine. Sorry, excuse us." Dick replied curtly, totally oblivious to who this girl was, and grabbed my hand, trying to guide me around her. When Ash saw him grab my hand, her eyes went wide and she looked at me for the first time, as if only just now noticing I was standing right there.

Instead of letting us pass, she side stepped us and stood in front of me, separating my hand from Dick's. She now stood in between us, hands on her incredibly slim hips. I took a large weary step backwards, out of habit. My heart started to trip over itself from nervousness and I felt like I couldn't feel my limbs because they we're numb.

She looked me up and down as if trying to size up what I possibly had that she didn't. When she was done, she settled on my face. And then I saw a flicker of confusion in those icy blue eyes. Oh no! I think she recognized me!

"Do I know you?" She said slowly. Her perfectly plucked eyebrows slammed down in confusion, but even then she was still beautiful.

I swallowed nervously and stood up straighter, cocking a hip and crossing my arms. I slipped back into my undercover self, "How would a successful businesswoman like me know someone like you?" I drawled dryly. I nodded at her tank top and short shorts. Oh, how I've always wanted to talk to her like this; It felt so good.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dick's questioning look. He was probably wondering why I was being rude to her.

"Ahem, excuse me?!" She shrieked and her eyebrows scrunched. "Who do you think you are? Do you even know my dad?!" She stepped towards me, threateningly.

At that last comment, I almost threw up and poured it all over her face. "You'd be surprised how much I know your father." I snarled at her. Just reminding me of my stepfather made me want to rip apart her throat.

She narrowed her icy blue eyes at me and continued to threaten me, "I come from a very well known family and I have guards that I can summon in an instant."

Oh. Well that was new. I didn't let the surprise show on my face. I guess my super rich step-father hired guards after I left, thinking I'd come back for revenge on them.

She took a step towards me, crossing her arms, "If my dad were here, you'd have been shot."

I scoffed, "If your dad were here, I'd have shot myself."

She leaned a little forward and started looking into my eyes and searching my face, looking for something that she would recognize. This wasn't good. I think she was starting to realize who I was.

"Excuse me, I have better things to attend to. I can already feel my brain cell count deteriorating from being in the same facinity as you. Or were those words too big for you?" I asked innocently, batting my eyes. Then I shoved past her, making sure to flip a strand of my hair into her face. Damn it felt so good.

I grabbed Dick's hand and marched down the street away from a gaping Ash, and away from that glimmering building of history.

Without talking, Dick and I automatically walked an extra block, turned the corner and headed back up the next street. Commons tactics to make sure no one followed us. We walked in silence, just in case someone from the corners would hear our conversation.

While we walked, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I almost fell at one point because I felt like there was this band around my chest. Dick actually had to hold onto my waist to keep me standing upright. He probably thought it was the shoes or something, but I seriously felt like I was being closed in on by walls. I couldn't think properly. Why were we walking further again? Wait, where were we going?

Finally, Dick dragged me around a corner into the alleyway that we were supposed to meet the others in.

Right when we entered the alleyway, I leaned against the wall and held my chest like it hurt. My head started to clear after we got out of public. It felt like a murky thick cloud lifted off of my brain. Oh wow. That was too close. My heart was pounding so much and I gasped for breath. Something was wrong with me after I saw Ash. I don't know... Maybe I was just so nervous and it was just pent up in me for the entire day and it was finally coming out.

Barbara, Bruce, and Tim all stood waiting for us.

"What's wrong?" Barbara got up from sitting on the ground and almost kicked her computer when she ran towards me. She put her hand on my forehead, which was beaded with sweat.

I waved her away and said, "I don't know. It's probably my nerves."

"Geez! What took you so long?" Tim got up from a crate he was sitting on and readjusted his baseball cap. "I have a video game marathon with Wally in two minutes!"

"M'gann's waiting for me to go shopping right now, but I can cancel if you're sick. Do you want me to stay with you?" Barbara asked, worry creased her forehead. She was in simple street clothing and her eyes were concealed behind sunglasses.

"No it's fine, I'm fine, really!" I stood a little straighter. It was true, I was feeling better. Whatever it was had passed. Batman was as stoic as a dark statue in the corner.

"Sorry, we got... held up." Dick said, looking at me with a you-have-a-lot-of-explaining-to-do look.

"Okay, I'll go first, Bethany bring up the rear." Bruce said, as he looked around to make sure no civilians were nearby. Then he pulled out the Motherbox and opened up a Boom Tube and stepped in, the light engulfing him completely. Next was Barbara, then Tim, and then Dick.

I took a deep breath and then stepped through, only glancing behind me once. But in that glance, I saw a flash of blonde hair around the corner and a perfectly manicured hand wrapping around the corner of the alleyway. Before I could yell out to who it was, I was already engulfed in a flame of blinding white light

 **Thanks for the patience! Love you all! Get the word out that the book is out! Some people don't know the second book has already been released! Okay stay traught.** 😏


	7. Chapter 5: Secret Weaknesses

**Bethany's POV:**

I almost threw up. Again.

Whether it was from seeing Ash, or from feeling sick a couple seconds ago, or from going through the boom tube again, I'm not sure. But after I walked out of the boom tube, I ended up doubled on the ground gasping for air.

"Geez, I'm going to hurl." Tim groaned as he ran to the bathroom, his baseball cap falling off as he ran.

Barbara leaned on me, her eyes squeezed shut. "I'm trying really hard not to throw up into your hair." I tried my best to glare at her, but I could only manage a grimace.

Dick's face looked paler than usual and his hand was on his stomach as he said "I really shouldn't have eaten M'gann's sandwich before we left..." He groaned.

I looked over at a quiet Batman. His face was completely stoic, not revealing any sign of queasiness or discomfort from the Boom Tube. Without a glance in our direction, he stalked towards the center of the glowing training circle and a digital keyboard and screen came out of nowhere.

The sound of heeled boots clicking across the polished training room floor reached my ears. Barbara and I slowly looked up to see Zatanna running over to us.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!" She knelt down next to me.

"Yeah... I just feel like I got socked in the stomach." I groaned.

She threw her head back and laughed, her beautiful long dark hair tumbling down her back. "Not you, idiot! I meant them!"

She pointed at the high patent leather pumps that somehow had still managed to stay on my feet.

I hit her head and she gave me hurt puppy dog eyes. I rolled my eyes and took off the heels, chucking them as hard as I could across the room. Of course, she caught them midair with a little spell and levitated them back to her. I tried to ignore the little guilty voice in the back of my head that complained that I had just tried to throw $1,000 Louis Vuitton pumps across the room.

"I feel like we should take a moment to think about how in the world you even fight in shoes like those." I pointed at her high heeled fashion boots.

She continued to look at me with those big crystal blue eyes, her naturally red lips were pursed in a pout. She motioned to my Gucci purse and whined, "Pleeease?"

I rolled my eyes and took a nice. deep. breath. "Get out of my face." I grumbled and tossed her the bag. She caught it in midair with her magic again and totally ignored what I just told her to do. She continued walking with me to my spare room that I had in the cave.

"I'll be getting that cute skirt and blouse when you're done, too." She said happily.

In exactly five minutes, I was dressed in my Huntress costume and had ditched Zatanna and M'gann, who went to Happy Harbor to get some shopping done.

I approached Batman, who was in his full Batman costume (mask on and everything) and was still at the computer, looking at the secutiry video feeds of the Ravens Corporation building.

"What are you looking for?" I stood next to him.

"Who pulled that alarm?" Batman continued to sift through videos faster than I could process them in my head.

"And most importantly," a voice that belonged to Nightwing came from behind me, "how did they know we were there?"

He came to stand next to me. He was in his full Nightwing costume, but he didn't have his mask on, which was kind of risky considering the rest of the Team was somewhere in the base, too.

I shifted uncomfortably. Could it have been...

"Talk." Batman demanded without even looking away from the computer. "Something's bothering you."

I was so used to him knowing what I was thinking without even looking at me.

"Well..." I scratched the back of my neck.

"What happened back there? Who was that woman and how did she recognize you?" Batman prompted.

"I heard Drexel say her name was Jayden, but I'm not sure where I recognize her from because my memories are a little fuzzy from when my dad used to be with me."

"You know how dangerous it is when someone recognizes you on a recon mission. Missions get destroyed." Batman warned.

"I shouldn't have made eye contact. Sorry." Honestly it wasn't my fault, but one thing you'll learn about Batman is that he just likes an apology, no matter whose fault it was. "Maybe she was the one who pulled the intruder alert. If she recognized me she probably thought something was suspicious."

"That is very likely." Batman responded.

I let out a frustrated noise, "I wish there was a way to remember where I'd seen her from before!"

It was silent for a second and then Batman said, "There is."

My head perked up but before I could continue asking, Nightwing stepped in between us, blocking Batman from me like a shield.

"No." His voice was firm and strong. "It's too dangerous. Don't you remember what happened last time?"

"What is it?" I asked curiously. I peeked from behind Nightwing at Batman.

"No." Nightwing said over his shoulder at me.

Batman ignored Nightwing and replied in a monotone voice, "By submerging yourselves into your memories."

"Huh?"

Nightwing looked over at me, "Like the mind simulation we did a while ago with the Team. Where Artemis 'died,' Wally went crazy, and M'gann's emotions made us think it was real and they couldn't bring us back out from our consciences. So yeah, it's too dangerous to do again."

"Oh."

"It would be worth the risk. And now we know how to do it." Batman reasoned.

"No. It's too dangerous. It could happen again." Nightwing held me back.

"But..." I started slowly. Batman was right and it would be worth the risk. "Finding out who this Jayden woman is might give us a lead on my father! She has some kind of relationship to my father! I'm sure if it!" I may or may not have whined.

He looked back at me, his crystal blue eyes peering deep into my brown ones, as if trying to decipher whether or not to trust my judgement or not. I tried my best to look like a puppy, but probably failed.

He let out a sigh and raked his fingers through his messy dark locks. "Okay fine. But I'm coming, too."

Before I could get happy, Nightwing continued saying, "But you have some more explaining to do. Who was that blonde girl we ran into earlier? I recognized her from somewhere but I couldn't remember..."

At the mention of Ash again, my heart dropped and my arms started to feel numb. I started to get dizzy again, but not as much as when I had personally encountered Ash. My tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth, preventing me from speaking her name again.

Batman looked at me expectantly, like this was new news to him. Then I remembered that he wasn't there when we ran into Ash.

I swallowed and cleared my throat to get my mouth to work. "That would be my devil step-sister, Ash." The words tasted bitter in my mouth.

Nightwing's eyes widened and Batman turned away from the computer and faced me fully.

"I think she may have recognized me, too. And I think that she may have seen the Boom Tube." I mumbled. This was so bad.

"Well, today has just been full of surprises hasn't it?" Nightwing clapped his hands together once and did two back handsprings in a row. Yeah, don't be surprised. He randomly does acrobatics when he's stressed, even if we're in the middle of a conversation.

Batman ignored Nightwing's random display of acrobatics and continued his questioning, "What happened after you encountered Ash? Why were you sick?"

"I don't know, I think I was just nervous." I shook it off. Batman looked at me for a moment too long. Truthfully, I hadn't really thought about that either and it was kind of bothering me, but I didn't want anyone else to worry.

"Okay, we need to think about the Ash situation more, but for now, you all need to focus on mentally preparing yourselves for the memory submersion."

And just like that, he disappeared in a beam from the Zeta Tube, probably heading back to Gotham.

"Hey I'm gonna go check up on Wally and Superboy. You okay?" Nightwing asked.

"Yeah, go do your bromance thing." I smiled and waved him away. He ran over to the kitchen where Wally was bound to be.

I took in a deep breath and turned back around to the empty training room. Now, time to get to the root of my "sickness" problem.

I stood in the middle of the glowing training circle and waved my hand in mid air, causing a glowing keyboard to appear in front of me. I turned out the lights of the training room so that I was put into complete darkness except for the glow of the floating keyboard and screen.

I turned the brightness down on the screen and minimized it so it was only in front of my face, not projecting above me. I couldn't let anyone see what I was researching.

I typed in "Can't breathe, claustrophobia, dizzy" and then pushed search. I looked around the room cautiously to make sure no one was here.

After about thirty minutes of reading articles about Asthma and claustrophobia and even fevers, I came up empty. Then, all of a sudden, an ad on the side of a website caught my eye. It said "Suffering from anxiety?"

Hmm... Anxiety?

I typed in the search bar "Anxiety symptoms" and waited for the sites to pull up. I started tapping mindlessly on my elbow out of nervousness.

The first article popped up and listed the symptoms as "sweating, shaking, shortness of breath, pacing, feeling trapped, and can't think properly." They listed a lot more, but I stopped reading.

I immediately exited out of the pages I had pulled up and cleared the history.

I stood there in the dark staring at nothing. What? Did I have anxiety? But this never happened before. Well, I felt this the first time I came to Mount Justice two years ago when I woke up on a hospital bed in the infirmary here, but then Robin calmed me down, so I didn't think it was anything serious. But that had happened right after I was scared that maybe my step-family had found me again. But then it happened again right after I saw Ash. So did it have anything to do with my step-family? Maybe my anxiety came when I was with my step-family...? Had they abused me to the point of breaking where I would even have anxiety? I didn't think it was possible but now... I wasn't sure.

This could affect my fighting! If I had to go against my family one day, I wouldn't have the strength. My anxiety would come back, tying me to the spot in the middle of a fight. What do I do?

But that's when it hit me suddenly.

I was actually... Afraid... Of my step family. I had constantly lived in fear and hatred when I was with them. They had broke me.

I had the sudden urge to cry, but I bit them back, almost spilling blood in my mouth. I wasn't sure yet, but I would find out sooner or later in the future. It was just a matter of time...

That night, back at the Wayne Manor, I lay up in bed thinking of the events of today. Something was off about that company. They're hiding something, for sure. But where does my dad come into the picture? I knew he was a lawyer at the Ravens Corporation, but I wasn't sure about the H.U.S.H. relationship. This H.U.S.H. Agency probably took him. Jackson, my real father, was always a good man, I remembered that much. He always cared about the greater good of the world (I mean, he was even a lawyer) and always took his work seriously. I remembered he would stay late at work almost every night so that he could help to quickly close up cases. Even on vacations, he would sometimes need to leave. And when Grace, my real mom but current Momster, would complain about him leaving, he would say that "the world is great and it needs protection from evil, which was why I am working the job I am. I believe in equality and justice." I remember he said that verbatim all the time.

But at the same time, he always had this dangerous and daring edge. He would stand up to judges and juries and all the bad guys without fear. But that's probably where I got my recklessness from. He always pushed me to become a martial artists spy, and he said it would help me in the future. I assumed he said that because I would probably need to protect myself from creepy rapers and muggers since we lived in the middle of the city. And because lots of bad guys didn't like Jackson because he had put so many people away. In a way, I was like my dad. I put the bad guys away using weapons, but my dad used the law to get rid of the bad guys.

H.U.S.H. or Ravens Corporation, I'm not sue which yet, probably took him. He probably found something out about the company and got caught. They probably took him and killed him. Or are keeping him as a slave. Or...

I shook my wild thoughts out and tried my best to get some sleep. After all, hero or not, I still had school tomorrow at 7:45 am. It was senior year after all. I still had to get through to graduation.

 **Hey guys. So this was more of a mental chapter where she was thinking to herself, but it was all rlly important. So vote comment share!**

 **Stay traught** 👌


	8. Chapter 6: Reminiscence

**Guys, I will now be regularly updating every Friday OR Saturday! Sorry for the wait, I will work harder!**

 **Bethany's POV:**

School was Hell the next day. I didn't get enough sleep because I was up all night thinking about Jackson, H.U.S.H., Ravens Corporation, and my anxiety attacks.

Maybe my dad had found some kind of secret out about H.U.S.H. and they took him to shut him up. Or maybe Ravens Corporation took him. How were they all connected? And -

"Helloooooooo? Earth to Bethany!" Artemis snapped her fingers in my face.

I blinked at her. What was she saying again?

"Hey! That's rude! Don't snap in my girlfriend's face!" Dick snapped his fingers back into Artemis' face. My heart fluttered at Dick calling me "girlfriend."

"Ugh," Barbara put her hand on her forehead, "Why doesn't anyone act like their actual age here: 18?"

"Oh dear," Artemis groaned. "Have you even seen Wally?"

No one commented on that because we all agreed that Wally was, and would always be, the most immature out of all of us, even out of the youngest members of the Team.

We were at lunch and the cafeteria was buzzing with chatter and the scrape of forks.

"Hey," Dick caressed my face, bringing me back to reality. "You've been out of it all day, do you need to talk about something?"

I kept my face carefully blank and timed my answer so nothing would be suspicious. I looked straight into his eyes and said, "No. Everything's fine." Biggest lie in my life.

"You're not thinking about your dad or Ravens Corporation?" Dick asked. I shook my head. Not completely a lie. I was actually thinking of my anxiety issues.

Artemis chimed in, "Or about H.U.S.H.?"

I shook my head.

"Or Ash?" Barbara added.

"Ugh!" I dropped my head into my hands. "Do you all want me to be stressed?"

"It's okay, Bethany." Zatanna scooted over and rubbed my back soothingly. "Don't be stressed about all of that. All we can do is wait for Batman's order."

"Thanks, Z. I'm glad you're here." And I was. After being introduced to our Team two years ago, Zatanna had enrolled in our school, since she also lived in Gotham. When she had first arrived, all the guys had drooled over her because she looked like a model, even in our school uniforms. But she'd also been a large source of comfort when things in school started to fall apart. She may or may not have used a little magic to help my grades. Shhh...

Our little group of friends consisted of me, Dick, Barbara, Artemis, and Zatanna. About two years ago, I was new to Gotham Academy as a sophomore. At that time, I had met all sorts of people. I had met jocks, popular girls, Dick and Barbara, talkative boys, and quiet girls. I had also met my best friend, Rose. She'd had long dark hair that sometimes shielded her from the world, and she was a romantic. Well, a romantic for books. She always seemed to be locked away in a fantasy world. She was shy and quiet, but she was extremely thoughtful and intelligent and was a phenomenal artist. She was my only good friend that didn't know that I was a hero at that time. "Was" being the keyword. She was killed by an evil spy of the Light who had been posing as another sophomore.

Kelli. She had killed Rose in an attempt to mentally throw me over the edge. And it had worked.

I had almost killed Kelli in response, almost sacrificing my humanity, but Dick had saved me before I could cross that bridge. Sometimes, I still wondered what would have happened...

My eyes drifted over to the empty seat at the end of the table. It was Rose's old seat where she would sit with us during lunch. She had always sat there and stared off into space and we would always tease her about it. Of course, she sometimes didn't even hear us because she was so engrossed in LaLa Land.

Sometimes, people would try to sit in her old spot, but I would yell at them to go away. They had no right to sit where Rose had sat. No one did. I would defend Rose until the end, even past death.

I sighed at the chair, almost feeling Rose's thoughtful presence. Dick looked over at me and caught my eye staring at Rose's old chair. He quickly sat up, grabbing my hand.

"I think we should get going. We can get to gym early if we leave now." Dick ordered. Even outside of the Team and Mount Justice, he was still the leader. Everyone listened to his command and got up to throw their trash away.

I knew what he was doing. Every time he could tell that I was thinking of Rose, he would try to distract me from the sadness. I got up and noticed how most of the cafeteria watched us leave. They respected us. They thought that we were the ones that disbanded Kelli's little passe of bullies. That was only partially true. After Kelli had killed herself, Bruce had covered up the whole thing, Rose's death included. Kelli's whole clique (consisting of Nicole, Shelby, Mike, Grant, and Kyle) ended up just leaving the school. They probably hadn't known who Kelli really was, so they actually mourned her death. Puke.

Since I was slightly involved with Kelli's passe at one point, the school had conjured up rumors that I had brought down Kelli with my friends. There were ridiculous rumors, and sometimes they even made me upset. They would never know the other half of the story, which included a lot of bloodshed and tears.

"Honestly, who wants to go to P.E. early anyways." Grumbled Zatanna, in response to Dick's earlier comment.

The five of us had managed to get into the same P.E. class, but that was the only class with the five of us together. We walked together towards the gymnasium, passing by my old art room on the way.

It was like time had stopped for a few moments, just so that I could relive those few memories from sophomore year. I looked through the window of the classroom, but it only took a split second for me to be sucked in. I could see Rose and I sitting in our usual spot in the classroom: the back corner near the windows. We were laughing at our drawings of each other and lightly chatting in our own little world. We had moved our easels and desks together so that we could have one big table, our colored pencils scattered between us. Art class was where I had first met Rose, and it was the only class we had together, and so we cherished it. The room was so bright, the sunlight filtering in and shining all over the room. Rose had that sparkle in her eyes as she laughed that musical sound. I had always imagined Rose as this little delicate fairy. She was so small, but she seemed so magical.

And just like that, the memory was gone. The bright and sunny art room dissolves back into the gray and brown room that it actually was. Rose wasn't there anymore. In a blink, she was gone all over again.

I blinked at the empty art room and then shook my head. We continued towards the gym, no one even realizing that I had relived a memory of Rose in that split second.

After Rose had passed, I had dropped out of art the next day. I couldn't bear to be in the back of the room without Rose; It had felt empty and I would never be able to do art in the same way again. There was always this empty space in me -

Someone bumped into me, causing my bag to knock off my shoulders. I quickly leaned back down to pick it up and then slung it over my shoulder. I looked up to see who the person was.

It was the one and only: Brady.

"Hey!" He snapped at me in his obnoxiously deep voice. "Watch where you're going next time!"

"You bumped into me," I snarled.

"What'd you say?!" Brady stepped up to me, puffing his chest out.

I stood up straighter and glared at him through my lashes. What a jerk. He had bullied Rose when we were in art class together. After Rose had died, I resented anyone who had ever been mean to her. As if on instinct, both sides of me were flanked by Barbara, Artemis, and Zatanna. It was only after a moment that I realized that all of Bradley's friends had done the same.

"Woah there," Dick stepped in between all us, sending me a warning look. "We don't want any trouble. It was an accident. Let's go."

But I was a little fed up with stress from yesterday's activities and the sorrow of Rose's death had returned. I felt like picking a fight.

"It wasn't an accident. He purposely shoved into me." I stepped towards him, narrowing my eyes at him. Dick put a warning hand on my arm, pulling me back.

"What're you talking about? You're the one that bumped into me!" Brady and his gang started to surround us in a menacing way, but that only made it funnier. Did they actually think that they could take us on in the middle of the hallway? They didn't know who we really were.

"Did your backpack get knocked to the ground? No? I didn't think so either." I said evenly up at him. By now I was leaning into his face and we were both glaring at each other.

Dick grabbed my hand and tried to tug me out of the situation, but I stood firm. I really felt like punching someone. Preferably, Brady's fat face.

"Hey, Bradley." Artemis called out at him.

"My name is Brady!" He screeched.

"Why don't you just go cool off and go smoke your cigarettes somewhere else!" Artemis yelled, gaining the attention of lots of students further down the hallway. She smiled to herself; She loved taunting people in public. Public humiliation was her specialty.

"What are you talking about? I don't smoke, that's against school rules." Brady replied, crossing his arms matter-of-factly.

"Oh, so that's not a 2.2 by 3.5 by .9 inch king size box of Marlboro Lights sticking out of your back left pocket?" Barbara chimed in, crossing her arms. Oh, I loved how she knew everything. "I don't think that the school would approve, don't you think?" She arched a brow at him. She stepped up to him, her height was much shorter than Brady, but her intelligence far exceeded his.

"H-hey! I don't know what you're talking about!" Bradley said as he started backing away, attempting to pull his blazer over his pocket to hide the pack of cigarettes. Him and his little Gang of Stupidity ran back down the hallway from where they came from, before they could get caught with the cigarettes.

"Bye, bye, Brandy!" Zatanna wiggled her fingers at him.

"That's not my name!" Brady shouted angrily over his shoulder at us as he ran back down the hall away from us.

I let out a sigh. I had really wanted to pummel someone's face, but at the same time, I was kind of relieved that nothing had broken out. I faced Dick and the rest of them, but Dick had this disappointed look in his face and he was pointing it at me.

"What?" I asked.

He sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples, "You tried to provoke a fight. Why?"

"I was feeling a little... angry today." I said. Thinking about Rose had made me angry.

"And he totally had it coming." Artemis agreed.

"You can't just-" He let out a frustrated breath. "You can't just go around picking fights with people. We can't do whatever we want. You may be stressed or angry, but you can't take it out on other people. We only fight in situations that are serious, not in petty school fights." The others were silent, but they knew he was right.

Dick sounded angry, which made my heart sink in disappointment. Why did I try to pick a fight? What was wrong with me?

"Sorry. It won't happen again." I hung my head. We turned to continue walking to the gym in silence.

I fell a little behind the group, but Dick followed me.

"Look, Bethany." Dick whispered so that no one else would hear. "I know you're stressed. You can talk to me, you know?"

I grabbed his hand and laid my head on his shoulder as we walked. I didn't reply. I didn't think anyone would understand my newfound anxiety issues.

Wayne Mansion was suspiciously deserted when I arrived after school. I had left Dick and the girls to go to the Cave without me, saying that I had left stuff at home. Not a complete lie.

I left my motorcycle next to the rest of the motorcycles in the ten-car garage. I speed walked through the silent living room, looked twice to make sure no one was there, and then pulled the pendulum of the old father clock. Part of the nearby fireplace moved up, creating a space just wide enough for a person to walk through into the awaiting elevator. I entered and pushed the single button, waiting for the finger print scan to complete. The doors shut and I descended, five floors below the ground. The Batcave awaited me.

The Batcave database is more advanced and accurate than the one at Mount Justice, thanks to both Dick and Batman's personalizations. I pulled on my Huntress uniform and sat at the big Bat computer and began to search.

I sifted through hundreds of news reports and news footage. Where were they hiding?

Where was the Light?

I had been searching for them for two whole years. After my fight with Kelli, she had revealed that the Light had a secret team of teenage operatives that were working to take down the Justice League, the Team, and to do the Light's bidding. I had searched for them nonstop after that. But the Light only threatened the world once in the past two years. But we couldn't get any answers from them about what they were doing and where their teenage team of operatives were. I thought that after the death of Kelli, the Light would reveal themselves slowly, but they never made a move. And if they did, they were extremely careful and clean about it. I couldn't track them!

I let out a frustrate shout and banged the keyboard, causing the screen to close and go black.

"Don't break it or you're going to have to buy it." A deep voice sounded behind me. "And I don't think you have over a million dollars on hand."

I didn't have to look to see that Batman, probably in his full costume, had appeared through the elevator and was coming towards me.

I scowled down at myself. I forgot that he would probably be home from work at around this time. CEOs and their short work hours...

Batman appeared next to me and looked up at the screen for a split second and then back down at me. He already knew what I was doing.

"You don't have to push the matter. They will reveal themselves when they want to." He said calmly. His calmness on this issue pissed me off.

"Batman, they could be out there killing people or planning to destroy the world, and all we're going to do is just sit here and wait for them to 'reveal themselves?' It's been two whole years of silence!" I think I was shouting. Matters were so complicated, so how could he not be trying to fix them?

He narrowed his eyes at me. He didn't like it when I raised my voice at him. "I know that you're passionate about this, but-"

"I'm not 'passionate.'" I spit the word out. "I'm just trying to do what everyone else is too lazy to do."

He ignored me and continued. "But think about it for a moment. When the Light doesn't want to be found, they will not be found. You've been searching for them for two years, but they haven't shown themselves. In a hunt, you change tactics when the one you're trying isn't working. Our new strategy is to wait."

I took a deep breath. Sometimes, Batman's rationality managed to calm me down. I liked it when we had a plan.

"Okay." I sighed. "It's just that I know there's probably other kids out there that they're recruiting by force, like they tried to do to me two years ago. And they're probably killing other innocent people, like Rose, just to get what they want."

"I know. Don't think I haven't thought of that before. But that's what motivates us to keep doing what we do."

I sighed. Rose's death had been extremely tragic, but at the same time, it had sparked something in me that caused me to fight crime more vigorously. Before, I had just gone through the motions, fighting evil and putting away the bad guys just because they were "bad." But after Rose died, the evil in the world hit me and I realized that all of this, the criminals and threats against our world, was all real. I could die and others around me could die, too. I used to think that I loved crime fighting because I loved the rush and the thrill it gave me. But now I know it's not just a hobby or something I "love." It's something that I have to do in order to right the wrongs in this evil world.

"Be patient." Batman said. "In time, they'll make a mistake and we'll catch them. Everyone makes mistakes in time. No one can hide forever."

It was silent for a few seconds, save for the sounds of me typing in the computer. Batman stood there quietly next to me, watching me look up the news around the world to see if there's any issues the Team needs to take care of.

"Even secrets can't stay hidden forever." Batman looked over at me. Shocked, I stopped typing.

"What are you talking about?" I asked defensively. But I already knew what he was talking about. And he knew that I knew. I saw it in his eyes.

"How did you know?" I asked, stiffly.

"I really hope you know that I can still see the search history on the computer at Mount Justice."

I sighed and revealed the anxiety disorder that I thought that I had to him. I told him how I thought that maybe my step family had scarred me so bad that I was susceptible to anxiety attacks when it came to them.

After I was done speaking, it was silent again. Then Batman spoke up again.

"What did they do to you?" He asked quietly.

I wasn't going to tell him.

My memories of my step family wasn't a matter I was about to tell Batman about. My step father was a favoriting asshole. He only cared about Cain and Ash and sort of my mom. I was completely invisible to him, causing long nights of hunger and tears. My mom had changed after Jackson was "killed" and turned into a completely different person. She transformed into a controlling monster. Ash and Cain taunted and physically hurt me whenever they wanted to. And if I ever lashed out or stood up for myself, my parents would punish me devastatingly.

Batman looked at me differently now. Like he had this new view of me that he hadn't known before. I hated it.

He probably thinks I'm fragile or a "poor little thing." I am the Huntress! Why should I have an anxiety disorder?! I decided that I wouldn't tell anyone else; My pride wouldn't let me.

"We should head back to the Cave. We are going to emerge into your memories today." Batman cleared his throat and we headed to the underground garage that would open up on the other side of Wayne Manor.

I blinked. That was today? I wasn't ready! Especially after I just learned that I had a mental anxiety issue!

I got onto my motorcycle and sped out of the garage before Batman had even got into his Bat-mobile.

It was getting close to dinner time, and the sun had an ominous glow over the city. I may or may not have sped a little. Okay, maybe a lot.

But I was anxious. What would my memory be like? How would we go into my head? Would the others accidentally find out about my anxiety?

The sudden sound of a motorcycle revving its engine behind me was startling. I glanced in my rear view mirror and saw Nightwing's motorcycle about 20 feet behind me.

Why couldn't anyone just leave me alone?! I needed space and time to think this over. Everyone just needed to go away! Leave me alone!

I sped up, going 75 miles per hour on the partially filled highway. Behind me, Nightwing sped up a little, too, but not daring to go past 65.

When I arrived at the Cave before Nightwing, I parked my bike next to M'gann's bio ship. I took my helmet off and shook out my hair. I stalked towards the kitchen where Wally, Artemis, M'gann, Zatanna, and Superboy were lounging, cooking, and watching tv.

"Hello, Bethany." M'gann said cheerfully next to me. She was baking her signature cookies again.

I grunted in response and reached for a bottle of water. I was restraining myself from punching a wall. My emotions had just been down all day.

"Hey, did you get what you needed back at your house?" Artemis asked. She was cleaning her bow on the floor, something she did quite often.

I nodded my head without speaking and headed for the door just as Dick came through it. I stopped.

"Hey, why are you acting like Superboy when he doesn't get his Frosted Flakes in the morning?" Wally called from the couch. Superboy hit him in the shoulder and Dick quirked an eyebrow at me, as if he had wanted to ask the same question.

"Today's the day." I said softly.

"The day? What's going on today?" Superboy got up and approached me. I started to feel cornered again.

"The day... That we go into my memories." I responded.

Everyone nodded because they already knew. Batman and I had told them the other day. But it was still so scary.

"Batman debriefed us about an hour ago, while you were at your house. We start in a couple hours, when J'ohnn - I mean, Martian Manhunter arrives from his mission" M'gann responded.

My fists clenched. No. I wish we had more time. I wasn't ready; things were moving too fast.

A hand warmed the small of my back and Dick spoke next to me. "It looks like you want to punch someone. Come on, let's go to the training room."

He guided me out of the room and to the glowing training circle.

"Hit me." He stood up straight and crossed his arms.

"What? Why?" I was confused.

"After I saw you get mad at Bradley, I knew something was up. What's wrong?" He asked stepping closer.

"Nothing."

"Come on, I know that's not- woah!" He dodge a kick I had aimed at his midsection.

"Arg!" I let my frustration out onto Dick and, being the good guy he was, he let me do it. We were dancing in a vicious and fast paced dance, jabbing back and forth. I flipped over him and kicked him in the chest, causing him to grunt. I felt slightly bad that I was actually hitting him, but I just considered this practice and it made me feel better. Each hit I landed caused a little bit of pain in my chest to ease off.

"Oh, no mercy, huh?" He flashed his perfectly white and straight teeth at me.

"Nope," His comments brought a slight smile to my face. This was helping me to feel better.

I actually started to break a sweat and had to summersault away from him to catch my breath. But when I looked back up, he was right in front of me and he spun me around, putting his foot behind my ankle, and pushed me to the ground. He kneeled down over my face, so close, and tucked my hair behind my ear.

"Never let your guard down." He breathed.

Instead of being angry at myself for losing, I was just excited. My heart started to flutter at an abnormal rate and I started to feel too hot. His face was so close to me and his other hand was resting on my upper thigh, sending tingling sparks through my body. His mesmerizing blue eyes were swirling and he glanced down at my lips. Knowing what he wanted, I put my hands around his neck and pulled him down to me, touching my lips to his briefly. He growled a little and then lowered himself onto me and put both hands around my face, as if to hold me there with him. Our lips moved in sync, as if we were made for each other. I felt my heart warming from this kiss and finally felt myself loosen up. I didn't realize how stiff I'd been all day. I'd had so many emotions, sometimes I was even unsure of what I was feeling. But now, I was sure of what I was feeling. The butterflies in my stomach and the tingling every time he touched me. I didn't want him to stop, but eventually, he pulled away to look at me again.

"i've missed this. I've missed you." He whispered. He sounded a little sad.

"Me, too. We haven't had time to just be with each other. We were so busy preparing for the mission at Raven's Coporation." I mumbled. I felt dizzy from our make out session and it was kind of hard to think straight.

"We should take some time for ourselves, maybe go somewhere together. We haven't gone anywhere in a long time." He moved from on top of me and lay next to me, both of us staring at the ceiling from the glowing floor.

I agreed halfheartedly. I didn't have the strength to tell him that we probably wouldn't have a lot of time on our hands to go on a date. We were heroes, and the world couldn't wait for us to push pause, go do our own thing, and then come back.

We sat in silence for a little while, and then he shifted to rest his head in his hand and face me.

"You've been off all day. What's wrong? Did something happen?" He peered at me through his dark long lashes. I always envied his lashes.

I shrugged and continued to look at the ceiling, not facing him. "I'm stressed about everything. And then I remembered Rose today and that put me in a mood."

"You acted kind of weird when we were talking about submerging in your memories back in the kitchen. How are you feeling about that?"

I turned away from him a little, facing the wall instead. "I... I don't know. I guess I forgot that it was today."

It was silent. He was waiting.

"I-I don't feel ready, Dick." I stuttered a little. It was hard for me to admit these things, but once I said the first line, the rest came pouring out. "Everything's moving too fast. I don't feel ready and I... I think I'm scared."

His hand laced through mine. "I'm here. The whole Team is here. You have nothing to fear, they're just memories."

"I'm scared of my memories. I'm afraid of what I'll see and remember." I turned my head away from him a little so that he wouldn't see the tears forming in my eyes. " I'm afraid of what I'll find."

 **Thanks for the wait! Remember, every Friday or Saturday!**

 **Overwhelmed, Underwhelmed, Whelmed.**


	9. Chapter 7: Memories

**Thank you guys for being patient. I know it's rlly late right now, but I just wanted to post because it's the weekend. Okay, Bye!**

 **Bethany's POV:**

I stood in the middle of the training circle with Nightwing, Artemis, Wally, M'gann, Superboy, Zatanna, and Aqualad. I tapped my finger on my elbow nervously as we stood waiting for Martian Manhunter. I looked over at our Team, watching them with a sort of reminiscence.

Wally, Nightwing, and Superboy were playing video games on the digital computer that floated in mid air, whereas Artemis, M'gann, Zatanna, and I were all talking to each other in a small circle. Off to the side, Aqualad was talking to someone on his phone. He looked like he was in a heated discussion, and was sometimes even whispering angrily.

M'gann and Superboy weren't talking to each other. In fact, it seemed that recently, there was some tension between them. They didn't talk to each other as often and Superboy always looked on the angry side nowadays. Maybe something was going on between them...?

"What do you think about it, Bethany?" M'gann faced me and the attention of the group of girls turned to me. I blinked. What were they talking about again? I hadn't been listening...

"My hair." She motioned to her pixie cut that she had morphed her hair into. Shocked, I took a step back. When did she do that? "How do you like it? I'm considering going to get a haircut."

"Why do you need to get it cut? You can just morph it." I said, avoiding my response to whether or not I like it.

She shifted her light brown hair and made it long again. She sighed and said, "I just want to do a normal Earth thing."

Just then, a female robotic voice echoed around the training room.

"Recognized Batgirl B16. Recognized Rocket B09."

Rocket, also known as Raquel Ervin, and Batgirl walked through the Zeta Tubes dressed in their costumes. Rocket was dressed in her usual gray blazer, long sleeved dark blue shirt, and tight cargo pants and boots. Her double piercings on both ears presented her with an air of confidence. Batgirl looked a little short compared to Rocket's long legs, but Batgirl's brains overshadowed everyone else's. Well, maybe except for Dick's. Call it girlfriend pride or whatever. Batgirl was telling Rocket about the physics behind her force field in some kind of science language that didn't register in my brain.

"Recognized Beast Boy B19. Recognized Robin B20. Recognized Wonder Girl B21."

Wonder Girl, also known as Cassie Sandsmark, and Robin, also known as Tim Drake, walked in with a green Beast Boy, whose name was Garfield Logan, trailing behind them. Cassie was floating a few feet above the ground as she talked with Tim, causing his slim but fit figure to look shorter than he actually was. Cassie wore a sleeveless black tank top, which showed off her arm muscles. As they talked to each other, Garfield skipped along with them, his tail swinging back and forth happily.

All of the Team had arrived to support me, Nightwing, M'gann, Superboy, Wally, Artemis, and Aqualad when we would go into my memories. Aqualad turned around to see everyone waiting and whispered something into his phone before hanging up. He walked carefully over to where everyone was congregating and stood awkwardly to the side before Rocket approached him. She tried to strike up conversation, but he didn't look too interesting. Poor Rocket.

"Recognized Batman 02. Recognized Martian Manhunter 07. Recognized Doctor Fate 17."

Three huge powerhouses of the Justice League walked through the Zeta Tubes with an aura of power and control. They were one of the most powerful heroes on the Justice League, and they were here to help suck me back into my memories.

Nightwing stepped up to me and gently squeezed my hand. "Are you ready?" He asked.

I took in a deep breath to calm my nerves. It didn't work. "I..."

"It's time." Batman stalked forward. He merely needed to stand there and his presence had the frightening effect of silencing an entire room of teenagers. "You all," he motioned to the other members who would not be entering my memories with us, "Need to leave. This is a precarious operation, so there can be no distractions."

Begrudgingly, with a lot of complaining, they all left the room, probably to go congregate in the kitchen and the living room.

Automatically, the remaining members, consisting of the original Team, semi-circled around Batman to hear the briefing. I had specifically said that only the original Team would come into my memories because I had never told the newer members about my past yet. I didn't really feel like having story time with them, so I never told them. There was no need for them to know, anyways.

"Miss Martian and Huntress, both of you will be leading this mission. Miss Martian will be in charge of holding everyone together, and Huntress will guide you through the memory, since it's hers." Batman commanded.

Behind him, Martian Manhunter levitated 8 white beds to the middle of the training room and then placed them all right next to each other. My palms started to sweat a little, so I wiped them on my cape. I looked around me and saw that everyone else looked just about as nervous as I did. Wally wasn't smiling, Artemis was shuffling from side to side, Aqualad was studying the floor, Superboy was just brooding, and Nightwing was studying me, as if trying to see if he could pick up any sign that I didn't want to do it anymore. I kept my face carefully blank and smiled back at him. If he saw that I didn't want to do it anymore, he'd immediately pull me out and cancel the mission.

I looked over at M'gann to see that she was the most nervous out of all of us. She was looking blankly into space, her eyes wide, and her hands clenched to her side. I realized that it was because of the last time that we had done a simulation like this. We hadn't been able to come back out of our own heads.

M'gann cleared her throat, "I don't think I should be trusted with such a serious mission." She looked down at her hands guiltily.

Immediately, I went up to her and took her hands in my own. "M'gann."

She looked up at me with those clear hazel eyes. They looked a little watery. I swallowed down my own fear and focused on trying to comfort her. If I was scared, then who would be able to hold us together?

"M'gann, I trust you with my life." And I did.

I saw the hope glimmer in her eyes and her eyes turned from watery desperation to fiery determination. Automatically, we all moved to each bed and lay down, Nightwing, of course, taking the bed next to mine. Batman moved towards the head of my bed and looked down at me. I should've been frightened by him, but I was more frightened by what was about to happen and what we were about to see.

Batman called over his shoulder, "Dr. Fate, standby. You will pull them out by force if they can not come out themselves. Hold hands." Batman commanded us.

Immediately, we gripped each others' hands. I reached over and grabbed Nightwing's familiar hand and M'gann's small and slim hand. I felt Nightwing drawing slow soothing circles on the top of my hand. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

In, then out.

"Huntress." Martian Manhunter's voice was like a strong wave of water washing over me. It was clear and soothing, completely in control. "Clear your mind. Think of Jayden's face."

I felt Martian Manhunter's long fingers on the sides of my head and could see the glow of his eyes through my shut eyelids. I thought of her long dark hair that tumbled down her back and her exotic mocha skin that glimmered in the light. Her incredibly long legs and the curve of her hips. I remembered every detail of her from the Ravens' Corporation building. Where had I seen her before? Well, I was about to find out.

I opened my eyes after what seemed like a strange nap.

My eyes adjusted to the dim light and I felt something warm in my hands. Both hands, actually. Wait? What's going on? Oh yeah!

I was in my memories now. I looked over and Nightwing's eyes were gently shut, in a blissful sleep. On my other side, M'gann started to stir.

"M'gann?" I whispered, squeezing her hand a little to wake her up.

"Mmm?" She murmured. Then her eyes shot open and her hazel eyes scanned the room, settling on our sleeping Team members around us.

"Help me wake them up." I commanded. "Hey, Dick," I whispered before pressing a kiss to his forehead. I could see the shadow of his beautiful eyes opening behind his mask. He sat up sharply and looked around.

"What's going on? Where are we?" He looked confused for a second. I reminded him of what was going on while M'gann woke up the rest of our teammates.

"Okay, guys. Here are the rules." M'gann stood up, dragging the rest of us with her since we were all still holding hands. "Do. Not. Let go of each others' hands. It's the only way that we can all stay connected in the memory. If you let go, you'll be stuck here and we probably won't be able to get you back out."

"Well, that's not very comforting." Wally remarked. "Ow!" I'm assuming Artemis squeezed his hand a little too hard.

"Huntress, do you have any idea what our location is?" Aqualad's calm voice floated over to me.

I looked around, taking in my surroundings. We had landed in what looked like a garage. Bikes and a wagon filled with martial arts sparring gear had all been moved to the side. There were old mats on the floor and a single bright overhead light that illumited the room. That's when I noticed that there was a little girl, about the age of five, and a grown man, looking to be about in his 20s, were sparring in the center. I took a step forward.

My heart stopped beating for a few moments. Tears started to form in my eyes and my lip started to quiver uncontrollably. No. I hadn't seen him since that day...

Jackson's dark hair was matted to his forehead and his face was drenched in sweat. He was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a simple black t-shirt. His gray eyes had a glint of humor and looked daring as he whipped around the little girl. The little girl had pigtails on and was wearing little shorts and a pink t-shirt. She was so tiny that her shoes looked like they could fit in my palm.

I stepped forward and started to loosen my grip on M'gann's hand so I could reach out and brush aside Jackson's hair. Just touch his face, wipe away the sweat. I just wanted to touch him and make sure he was there-

"Don't let go!" M'gann's sharp voice rang in my ear and I jumped back a foot, shaking my head to get rid of the forming tears.

"Bethany? Who are those people?" M'gann asked.

"That's me... and my-my dad." I might have shed a few tears. My heart felt like it would burst any second. God, it hurt. My chest and my heart, they ached. I wanted to yell at my dad. I wanted to shake him and tell him that I was here, that I was okay. I wanted to hit him and ask him where he's been? What happened that day of the explosion at the Raven's Corporation building? Why did he leave? Why didn't he ever come back? Why didn't he say goodbye?

But I knew he couldn't hear me. He was just a figment of my imagination, a character in a dream. He was just part of my memory.

It was storming outside, with the occasional flash of lightning that lit up the sky. The ominous weather sent chills down my back. Something was about to happen.

I looked at my younger self, a care and stress free little naive girl. I never would have even dreamed that I would be where I am now. I'd grown a lot since then. I recognized the garage as part of the house is grown up in when I'd been living with my real father and mother. It was cluttered and dusty, but it was where my dad had always trained me in martial arts.

"Jump higher when you do the spin jump kick to the head. And bend those skinny little legs of yours!" He poked little Bethany's leg.

I jumped at the sound of his voice. His voice. I hadn't heard it in 13 years. His hard but rustic voice. My throat started to choke up and and my eyes started to close a little. The tears started to come down my face without my permission. It wasn't fair! How could he be gone?

I saw the rest of my teammates watching the scene unfold around us with big eyes. They were curious about my past. Well, they would get a front row seat. Nightwing looked over at me and scooted closer to me and I leaned my head on his broad shoulder. He knew the past was hurting me.

Dream-Bethany giggled like a happy little girl at my dad's poking. I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment, causing more tears to fall down. This scene, my dad, everything, it was all too much. My heart was hurting so much. It was in little broken pieces and it felt like they were being crushed even further. It hurt, God, it hurt so bad.

Jackson continued coaching, ""Let's go again, one more time. And snap your knee forward. Technique and control ALWAYS win over power."

"No kidding," Superboy grumbled under his breath. I remembered when he'd gotten that same lesson from Black Canary. He'd punched a hole in the wall out of rage, but that was two years ago. Funny how much he's changed.

Little Dream-Bethany nodded her head and bent her knees accordingly. She took a deep breath in concentration as Jackson held up a wooden board that she would need to break with her kick. It seemed as if the entire Team were holding their breath to see what would happen.

When it seemed as if time had finally stopped and you could almost see the flakes of sawdust floating around in the room, Dream-Bethany jumped up, twisted her little limber body, and snapped her leg at the wooden board. My eyes widened and it felt like it was in slow motion. A long split rushed across the wooden board, and then all of a sudden, the wood splintered into little pieces, flying in slow motion across the room, even into all the little crevices.

Dream-Bethany landed on her feet and stared for a moment, as if trying to register that she had just broken a two inch thick wooden board.

"W-W-W-WHAAAAAT?" Wally stuttered.

"Hmm... I didn't master that kick until I was 14..." Artemis muttered jealously.

"Impressive." Aqualad glanced at me.

"That's my girl." Dick whispered down at me. I felt a warmness spread in my heart.

"Wow." Jackson looked in his hands and there were only a few shards of wood left. "Great job, kiddo. You've really improved since yesterday."

I nuzzled further into Dick's shoulder. It'd been a long time since I'd received a compliment or any praise for something I'd achieved.

"One of your greatest strengths that you have is that you are able to read what people will do before they even do it. You've always been good at that, but you can't always depend on that. Others may not be able to outsmart you, but I can." Jackson paced in front of Dream-Bethany, like he was teaching a lesson.

Dream-Bethany stuck out her tongue at Jackson because of his last comment, but Jackson merely laughed and continued talking, and Dream-Bethany paid close attention, despite her playfulness.

"I'm able to read you, even though you can read me. So, in fact, that skill that you have for reading people isn't a big advantage when fighting me. You know what I like to do, I like to trick you and mess up your readings."

And it was true. I remembered that he would always read what I would do ahead of time and I would always try to read him, but he always knew how to get around me when I would try to predict what he'd do. He'd trick me into making me think he'd do something, like crouching ever so slightly to pretend like he's about to jump, but then he'd do the opposite and kick me low. He was the only one who could trick me like that.

I looked over at our Team and saw that they were all hanging onto every word that he was saying, like he was their new mentor or something.

"I told you, technique is the key to better results than just going Godzilla on your opponent." Jackson picked up his water bottle and chugged half of it down.

"Tell me about it," Superboy mumbled under his breath. He'd learned the same lesson the hard way from Black Canary about two years ago.

"Heehee! Godzilla!" Dream-Bethany giggled. "RAWRRR!"

"Haha, you'll be even greater than Godzilla one day." He ruffled the top of Dream-Bethany's head, causing her hair to fluff up in the back.

I squeezed my eyes shut. This was too much. If only he knew what I was now. Would he consider it being "greater than Godzilla?" He had had such high hopes for me, and what had I done in return? I'd run away. I'd been scared and backed down from the fight against my step family. I am such a weakling.

Jackson crossed his arms and smirked lovingly down at his daughter as he taunted, "You still have yet to beat me in a sparring match."

That seemed to spark a fire in Dream-Bethany and she jumped up and down and pointed at her father yelling, "I'll beat you right here! Fight me!"

They started bouncing up and down around each other and laughing, Dream-Bethany's eyes so bright and childish. It was a foreign sight. I hadn't seen my eyes so bright and my spirit on fire since forever. Ever since my step family moved in, I'd been full, gray, and impassive towards life. I couldn't believe I was seeing myself before my eyes, it was just so surreal.

"Hey, Honey?" Grace's voice floated over to us. We settled down and looked at her from the entrance.

The light was shining behind her and her long light brown hair was tied up in a messy bun, with stray strands of hair framing the sides of her face. Her kind eyes almost seemed to shine at us. She was wearing a short stylish apron and had a mixing bowl and a whisk in her hand, a streak of flour decorating her beautiful face.

My heart almost stopped at the sight of her. I expected my anxiety to hit me full force because my mother was right in front of me, but it didn't. I didn't feel trapped or anything, I just felt an intense sadness. This was what my mother was like before she turned into a total monster after Jackson died. I let out a sudden sob. I couldn't help it, it was all so sad. I never thought I would see my family like this again. All of this, the entire dream, was just how I had wanted my life to go back to. I had yearned for these moments again after my life got turned upside down.

"Someone's at the door. I think it's for you." She continued stirring her bowl and and smiled at Dream-Bethany. Bethany grinned back at her mom.

I almost screamed in shock. I would have never smiled at my mother now! The image of us smiling at each other was so foreign and forgotten that I felt glued to the spot after seeing that.

"Hmm..." Jackson started to walk slowly back into the house. "Who could be here at this hour? It's about 9 pm."

Dream-Bethany began to follow him into the house, but after Jackson looked through the peephole, he turned back towards Bethany with a serious look on his face. The air suddenly turned still and a heavy cloud settled upon us.

"Shh. Stay out of sight. Remember what I taught you about stealth. You're not even here..." He waved his hands around in a ninja hand motion with a smile on his face. Bethany giggled a little and Jackson put his finger to his mouth in a quieting motion. He had always made it into a game whenever someone from his work came over. But now, I realized that it was his way of hiding me from his work associates. Hmm, that's strange.

But what Jackson didn't know was that night, I had followed him to the door and hidden around the corner. In addition to stealth, he had taught me about recon and I had always been up to a great challenge. The Team and I inched forward into the foyer to get a better look.

Jackson opened the door and I heard gasps and saw jaws drop at who was at the door.

A frantic looking Jayden was standing there in the rain, her coat covered in water and her long hair sprinkled in rain droplets. There was no mistaking her perfect caocao colored skin and long beautiful hair. This was where I had seen Jayden.

 **Okay, bye!**

 **Distraught, traight.**


	10. Chapter 8: Emergence

**So sorry for not updating! I just didn't have the chapter ready. This one is kind of short, so savor it! And the next chapter to come out on schedule this week Friday/Saturdays!**

 **Bethany's POV**

In addition to predicting people's attacks in a fight, I had the perceptive skill of reading people's body language and facial expressions. It was a unique trait that I seemed to have gained since I was a very young child.

I could tell that Dream-Bethany was using her perceptive skill to read Jayden right then. I glanced at Dream-Bethany and immediately saw the confusion that flickered in her big brown eyes. The thoughts going through her mind were probably wondering the same thing as I was wondering in my own mind. Who was this woman? And why was she here? I saw Dream-Bethany's eyes shift and scan Jayden up and down from behind the corner. She was trying to interpret who this Jayden woman was just from her posture and her clothing.

One thing that Dream-Bethany would learn in the future was that the most important key to interpreting people is their face. A single facial expression can reveal part of who you are and all the feelings you have at the current moment. I turned my attention to Jayden and did my own reading of her.

Jayden was wearing nude pumps and a long expensive trench coat that was covered in droplets of water. She was leaning slightly forward, which meant that she was eager to tell Jackson something. Her hair was in front of her shoulder, closer to her face, but Jayden didn't both to push the damp strands aside, which meant that whatever she had to say was important enough that she hadn't even noticed. I could see the uneven rise and fall of her chest, which meant that she was either scared or rushed, but looking at her eyes caused me to rethink. Her brows were furrowed and her eyes were wide. She was scared. Frightened, actually.

The Team, on the other hand, was trying their hardest to listen to the conversation as best they could, but they didn't realize that you could get just as much information from a person's body and facial language.

"Jackson." Jayden whispered sharply to Jackson. The first thing I noticed was that her voice wasn't lyrical anymore; She wasn't messing around. "They've gotten out! The alarms..."

A strange noise came out from her mouth. It was like garbled talking. My dad spoke back to her, but I couldn't understand what they were saying to each other because it was so muffled. I looked around at the other Team members and could see that they couldn't understand either. They were all leaning forward and had confused looks on their faces.

"What is happening?" Aqualad asked.

"Why can't we understand it?" Nightwing asked M'gann.

M'gann turned to us and said, "Bethany doesn't remember what they said. So it comes out muffled in the memory."

"What? No! I have to know what they're saying!" I tried to move forward, attempting to pull the Teammates along with me, but my legs felt like they were trying to go through solid cement, and I almost fell flat on my face, if it weren't for Nightwing's steady hand pulling me back to safety, "No! Why can't I move?!" I could see the others were struggling to move, too.

"It's because you're tied to your memories, your younger self." M'gann pointed to Dream-Bethany with her free hand. Dream-Bethany was oblivious to us and was focused so much on the interaction between Jayden and Jackson.

"What does that mean?" I demanded. I was frantic now. We had to know what they were saying! This could give us a clue to who Jayden was! Wasn't this the whole point of us coming here in the first place?

"It means that there are boundaries that you can't go past. I'm guessing you can't move too far from your memory self because we're all in her memories now." M'gann pointed at Dream-Bethany again.

A feeling of helplessness settled on my shoulders, pushing me down. All we could do was sit back and watch.

I saw Jayden glance back into the shadows were Dream-Bethany was hiding. Dream-Bethany quickly swung back around the corner, flat against the wall. Her chest was heaving up and down silently from her nerves. I saw a flash of confusion in Jayden's eyes, but it was gone in a second and she refocused to what Jackson was telling her.

Suddenly, the last part of the conversation came back to us. Jackson moved to the side to grab his coat that was hanging by the door and stuffed his sock-less feet into his running shoes. He stepped outside into the rain and called over his shoulder, "Grace, I have to leave. It's work." And with that, Jackson slammed the door in a hurry, without so much as a goodbye.

My mom turned the corner into the foyer. The whisk in her hand was raised in the air in shock and part of the batter from it dripped onto the floor, but she didn't even notice. She was just staring at the closed door in shock. I knew what she was thinking. My dad never used my mom's first name unless it was serious. He never left in the middle of practice with me and he would have never left my mom without saying goodbye. Something must have happened that night...

"What now?" I asked, but my voice sounded too far away. "M'gann?" My voice echoed in my own head. M'gann worded something to me, but I couldn't hear her. What was going on?

M'gann scrunched her eyes together in concentration and her eyes began to glow the same way Martian Manhunters had when he had put us into my memories.

The room started to fade to white and I felt Nightwing squeezing my hand. M'gann nodded at me, and that's when I knew that everything was going to be okay. They were pulling us out. It's okay, it's okay.

Everything started to dissolve to white and the only thing I could feel was Nightwing's comforting hand on one side and M'gann squeezing my hand in the other.

"Bethany." Someone called, but the sound just echoed around in my head. My head. My head hurt like crazy. It hurt so much that even my eyes began began to throb.

"Bethany." The sound echoed again, but louder this time. "Bethany, wake up."

Shut up! I wanted to scream. Let me sleep, let me stay here in this white bliss. Just let me be...

"Bethany!" Someone shouted in my ear and I sat up and punched out into the air, but my fist made contact with flesh.

"OW!" M'gann rubbed her forehead, the part that I had accidentally just punched, but luckily, not that hard. "Geez!"

"Ohmigosh! I'm so sorry, M'gann!" I touched her forehead like I could somehow magically take away all the pain.

She let out a nervous laugh and said, "It's okay, you were just startled." she sighed and then hugged me. "You were the last one to wake up, so I was just... I don't know, I thought I had made a mistake again this time and I was so worried about you and what happened to you and-"

"M'gann." I rubbed her back soothingly, "It's okay."

I moved away from him and faced away from all the other people who were talking to each other about the memory. My memory.

"You good?" A deep voice asked next to me. I turned my head and met Dick face to face. I could see the shadow of his searching eyes behind his mask. I don't know what came over me, but I suddenly pressed a long kiss to his lips. When I pulled back, his face had a beautiful blush spread over his pale skin and he helped me out of bed like a gentleman. "I'll take that as a yes."

But I wasn't. I would never be fine until I found Jackson.

We supported each other as we slowly walked our way over to Batman who was watching the scene unfold with criticizing eyes. Beside me, Nightwing still hadn't let go of my hand. Next to me, M'gann looked like her mind had taken its toll, so I linked my arm through hers and smiled as comfortingly as I could when she looked over at me. She smiled weakly back and then paid attention to Batman. I looked over at Superboy and noticed that he looked especially concerned for M'gann, but whatever was going on between them was preventing him from approaching her to comfort her.

"Debrief me." He demanded. I noticed that all of the other Teammates were blinking against the harsh light of the main training room and all looked pretty out of it.

M'gann and I retold what had happened in the memory while the others occasionally chimed in with forgotten details.

"But we couldn't hear what they were saying! Ugh! Wasn't the whole point of going into my dream so that we could find out what Jayden was up to?" I said irritatedly. "So the whole thing was just a waste of time."

"Not necessarily." Batman turned towards his computer and started to pull up some screens. "You shouldn't get angry over this because there is always information hidden."

I sounded really angry, but on the inside I just felt hurt. I missed my dad so much. How I'd wondered if I'd ever see his smiling face again, or hear his amused voice, or let myself be content...

"From seeing Jayden, we found out that Jayden knew your father. That is definitely a link to your father and his missing case." Batman continued, but his voice started to feel further away. "Are you able to think of any other memory that might aid us to..."

I zoned him out because I was drowning in my own self pity. I thought about all those times that Ash and Cain had taken away my happiness that I had had with my father. My mom had also played a role in my misery because she was always on Ash and Cain's side, never mine. When Jackson had just died and my mom remarried and started to treat me differently, I let it slide and put up with it for a few months because I thought it was just her dealing with Jackson's death. But when her attitude never lifted up, it had me thinking that she never even loved Jackson in the first place. But it didn't make sense because she had been so loving back then! None of it made any sense, and I'd always wondered about that but I'd never really investigated it. All I could think of was all the things that Grace had done wrong to me. One time, Ash and Cain had been playing with knives and I'd gotten caught up in the middle of it and-

"Bethany! What are you doing?!" M'gann yelled in my ear.

Huh? I snapped out of it and looked up at her, but she was only mouthing words now, I couldn't hear her even though it looked like she was room was starting to fade and the only thing that felt solid was Nightwing's hand in my right and M'gann's elbow linked through mine. I could barely hear Batman yelling at us, but he sounded like he was a mile away. Reality was fading away.

"Batman! What's going on?" I yelled. I had an iron grip on both M'gann and Nightwing's hand as my mind started to swirl into an even brighter light. Soon, I wasn't able to see anymore and the light was so blinding I had to squint. Dick started to squeeze my hand a little and so I squeezed back to tell him I was there.

But then his hand went limp and my heart started to pound incredibly fast. What happened to Dick? Was he hurt? Was he dying? "Dick! Can you hear me?! What's going on?!" I shouted into the air. "Someone!" and my voice just continued into nothingness.

My eyes started to feel droopy and I wanted to fall asleep, too. Did someone inject me with something? But I hadn't felt it! What happened to Dick? Why did M'gann's hand feel so cold now? Why did I feel so tired? Where did everyone go? Why was I all alone again?!

Don't close your eyes, Bethany! Don't close them! Don't! I don't want to! I don't... I can't... stay... awake...

 **Please don't hurt me. I know I keep leaving on cliffhangers, it's just I don't know where to end. I know this was a short chapter, but the next one you'll find out what happened to them!**

 **XOXO,**

 **traught-monster**


	11. Chapter 9: The Past That Binds Us

**Sorry for the delay. I'll work harder to prevent that from happening. After this, the story will pick up again, promise! The pace of the story will speed up a bit! :)**

 **Bethany's POV:**

My eyes snapped open once I remembered what had happened. How much time had passed? What happened back there?

"You're awake. That's a relief." Someone blew out a sigh, rustling the stray hairs on my forehead.

I noticed my head was resting on someone's lap and both of my hands were linked through two people's hands. I sat up sharply, causing Dick to jerk back to avoid getting hit by me.

"Where are we? What happened?" I sputtered.

"Woah, woah, woah. Calm down. It's all right. We're all right." Dick smoothed out my hair with his free hand. "Well, at least I think we are."

"Not comforting." I replied. "M'gann, what happened?"

"Well, it's complicated." She said looking around.

"Uncomplicate it." I demanded.

"Well, you're mind was so full of emotions when you were thinking, and I was still partially in my mind because Martian Mahunter hadn't completely drawn me out yet, so we got sent back. Usually, I'm supposed to be the one in charge of the memories, but Bethany's emotions and mind was so strong that she drew us back into her mind. And since we were all in contact with each other, the three of us got sent back together." She sighed. "So here we are."

"So what do we do?" I asked, because honestly, I just wanted to go eat some pizza and take a shower, I was so tired.

"Ummm... That's the complicated part. I don't really know what to do. I'm sure that Martian Manhunter, Batman, and Zatara are all trying to get us back out, but it's up to someone inside the memory to push on the other side, too."

"So why can't you do that, M'gann?"

"I don't know! For some reason, my powers aren't bringing us back. I think that maybe you're the one that needs to bring us back to reality, since it was you who brought us here in the first place."

"I don't know what I did! I was just thinking about something that had happened with Ash and Cain a while ago and then suddenly we... Why are we in my old house?" I froze.

We all looked around, as if just now noticing our surroundings. M'gann's eyes were wide and Dick's eyes were critical, both sizing up anything they laid their eyes on. Me? My eyes were a burning red of anger and hatred.

I could remember every detail of this house, every piece of dust on every furniture. This was my prison, my cell, and my old life. How could I forget?

Most would say that the house was big and beautiful, but I would say that it was the worst Hell in the world. The kitchen was wide set and open, a huge island planted in the middle and cold stoves and ovens three times as big as the one in the Cave. The steely gray refrigerator loomed high over the counter, casting a dark shadow over the long sink. The place was utter cold and darkness, full of dark memories.

In the middle of the vast kitchen were three kids. Cain had his usual smirk plastered on his pale face. His tousled blonde hair covered part of his forehead and sharp features on his face made him look part angel. His body was pretty fit for just a thirteen year old and he was tall for his age. He was handsome, but I knew who he really was. The gleam in his eyes told me everything. Next to him, Ash rivaled his height. She was beautiful and skinny, anything a modeling agency would dream for. Her hair was long and draped over her pale shoulder like a silk blonde curtain. Her eyes were an icy blue that could freeze you and her red heart shaped lips could manipulate you into doing whatever she wanted. She was gorgeous, but deadly.

And right in between both of the taunting children was a much smaller girl with dark hair that covered part of her face. Her wide eyes conveyed the message that she knew that nothing good would come in the next five minutes. Her eyes were a dull brown and her lips looked dry, like they hadn't smiled in a long time. Her arms were wrapped around herself and she squirmed uncomfortably between the two smiling blondes. She stuck out between all three of them. She didn't look gorgeous and didn't resemble anything like a model. Instead, she looked like she wanted to run far away and never look back.

"Cain, why don't we show Bethany a magic trick?" Ash asked from the other side of Bethany. She leaned into Bethany's face, a smile dancing across those perfect lips.

"Sounds great. Should we use knives? Or fire?" Cain flashed perfectly white and aligned teeth over at Ash, then looked down dangerously at Bethany.

"How about both?" Ash got two butcher knives and a lighter. She handed Cain the two knives. "I like the fire better, though."

Between them, Dream-Bethany shrunk and started to back away. "I don't want to -"

"You don't want to what?" Ash cut Dream-Bethany off and started to approach her. "If you don't play with us, then I might have to tell Grace. You wouldn't want that, would you?" Dream-Bethany shook her head fast.

Beside me, Nightwing took a step forward, his hand in such a hard fist it was shaking. I stepped up and spoke to him, "It's okay, Nightwing. It's just a memory. It's not real."

"But it was real." Dick shook his head.

"Okay, Cain." Ash tapped her brother on the shoulder, "You go first. Show us a cool juggling trick."

Cain grinned that malicious grin before taking a breath and tossing up the knives. But he was standing so close to Dream-Bethany that she started to back away again. Cain, surprisingly capable of juggling two knives, started to follow Bethany in a taunting way.

"What's the matter, Bethany? Scared?" He glanced at her horrified expression, but in that split second, he'd missed one of the knives and hit it with his other on accident. The sound of the blade hitting flesh filled my sensitive ears. The blade clattered to the ground in slow motion, the sound echoing around the kitchen.

M'gann gasped next to me and Dick tensed up. Dream-Bethany's arm was now decorated with a red line, which started to form little droplets of blood. Eventually, those droplets grew so heavy, that they started to drip down her arm. Dream-Bethany let out a scream from pain and started to cry.

"Oh come on, it's not even that bad! See?" Cain grabbed her arm and twisted it to look at it. That made Dream-Bethany yell out again from the sharp pain. On instinct, Dream-Bethany did a quick snap kick right in Cain's man part, making Cain yell out and clutch his balls.

"What the hell?! Why did you do that? I didn't do anything to you!" Cain squealed while doubling over.

Ash stepped up next to Cain defensively and held up the lighter. "I heard you're supposed to clean a cut to get rid of the bacteria. I learned that heat is also an effective way to clean bacteria. Wanna try?" She held up the lighter, sparking it, and holding a flame. Ash began to approach Dream-Bethany with a glint in her eyes.

Dream-Bethany's eyes doubled in size and she cried out and closed her eyes. Dream-Bethany struck out at Ash and punched her in the nose. Ash's scream could be heard reverberating around the entire house, which caused Dream-Bethany to look carefully around the house, expecting monsters to pop out at her.

By now, Dream-Bethany was shaking from fear. But I knew, not from fear of Ash and Cain, but for the monster that was about to come out to make her regret everything she had done, even if it wasn't her fault. Just like Dream-Bethany, I began to shake with the same fear. I remembered clearly what had happened that day.

"GRACE!" They both yelled in unison. I began to shake and I tightened my grip on both M'gann and Dick's hand. M'gann yelped next to me and Dick looked worriedly over at me.

"You okay?" Dick asked next to me.

"I... I..." I couldn't breathe. Grace was going to come and Dream-Bethany was so utterly screwed.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain slice across my arm. I cried out in pain and glanced over, all I could see was a red line with something oozing out of it.

"Bethany!" Dick cried out next to me. He used his free hand and gripped my arm really hard, applying pressure with his gloved hand on the wound that came out of nowhere. It relieved some of the pain, but my arm still throbbed.

"What is going on in here?!" A high voice screeched, causing the sound to reverberate around the room and thunder in my eardrums sending chills. The sound sent waves of chills down my spine. I hadn't heard that dreadful voice in a long time.

I looked to see a strange woman coming down the staircase. Her hair was chopped short and it had turned from a friendly reddish brown to a dark brittle brown. Her skin was dark and her face had light wrinkles. Her dark eyes were narrowed down at us in a critical way and her thin lips were pursed in an angry line. She was wearing a slim dress that went down to her shins, revealing the curves in her body. She had gained weight since the last memory. The friendliness and beauty from the last memory was all gone without a trace. Grace was like a totally different person, one who haunted my nightmares and drove me to run away.

She descended the stairs in a taunting way that set a feeling of doom all over the room, her high heels clacking on each step. Out of habit, I started to back away from the room, out of fear. But my legs started moving in thick cement again and it strained my muscles just to move a centimeter. It was because I was moving too far from Dream-Bethany. I started to shake a lot and I couldn't breathe. Was it getting hot in here? Why were the walls moving in?

No no no no! My anxiety attacks couldn't be coming right now! Not now! Why?! I couldn't let Dick and M'gann see!

"I'm trying to have a conference call upstairs and there's so much nonsense noise coming from downstairs. Ash, you tell me what is going on right this instant!" Grace's voice was dangerous.

Ash pointed a slender manicured finger down at Dream-Bethany. "She punched me in the nose!" Ash's nose was bleeding, but other than that she was fine.

"And she kicked me in the balls." Cain squeaked from the side, still doubled over and clutching his parts.

Grace's face turned red and she stormed over to Dream-Bethany quickly, causing my heart beat to race even faster. She grabbed Dream-Bethany's arm tightly and dug her nails her skin. A searing pain moved through my own arm and I cried out alongside Dream-Bethany. Grace was grabbing my cut and her nails were digging into the tender flesh!

I fell to my knees and almost let go of M'gann to hold my arm. God, it hurt so bad. What was happening to me?

"Bethany!" Dick's voice rang out next to me, his voice laced with fear and worry. "What's going on? Talk to me! I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on!"

"It... Hurts..!" I wheezed. My head was muddled and jumbled up. Why were we here? Why would I ever want to come back here? Why did we ever go into my memories in the first place? My anxiety attack was making everything worse.

"M'gann!" Dick yelled.

"I - I don't know! I think she's losing control of the memory, so she's actually feeling what her memory self is feeling too. That would explain the sudden cut in her arm." M'gann spoke really fast. She was panicking, too. "Do you know how to get out?"

She was talking to me, but my mind was only focused on the scene unfolding in front of me. It brought rushes of emotions pain. It muddled my brain and sent them scattering across the room. I was wheezing and taking short shallow hiccups of air.

"You!" Grace yelled in Dream-Bethany's face. Dream-Bethany's eyes were filled with a fiery hatred as she glared right into the eyes of Grace. I felt her pain, but also encountered her burning anger.

She tried to pull her arm away, but Grace's hand was like an iron grip and it hurt the flesh on Dream-Bethany's arm to try to resist her. I felt a little jolt of pain slice through my arm, too, as Dream-Bethany struggled.

"You will not be hitting your siblings! Do you understand?!" She shrieked in her ears.

"But they cut me and tried to burn me!" Dream-Bethany pointed at the evidence of knives and a lighter that had fallen to the floor. Tears escaped both of our eyes as we knew that arguing with Grace was useless. "My injury is worse!" dDream-Bethany screamed through tears.

Emotions and snippets of thoughts scampered through my head. This wasn't fair! Why was life so cruel?! She was going to punish me when I didn't do anything wrong! They hurt me!

"Come here!" Grace's warning voice was shrill in my ear, sending a race of fear in my heart. She yanked Dream-Bethany forward, and she stumbled back to stand. When she looked up, I saw she had taken down one of the-

"Bethany!" M'gann's voice was directly in my ear, shocking me out of my frozen state on the floor. "You need to get us out of here, or we'll be stuck here!"

"What?" My head was groggy, "how... How do we- I mean, I do that?"

"You need to focus! Focus first! Clear your mind." She sat down next to me, holding my hand in both of hers.

I tried to do as she said, but I couldn't breathe. The band around my chest came back and I felt like I was suffocating. Tears kept streaming down my face. Why was I crying? Was it from the pain or from the stress that I couldn't get out of my own mind? Where were we? Why couldn't we leave?

"I... I can't...focus!" I gasped, "I can't breathe!"

The walls started to close in and I began to rock back and forth. I was trapped. There was nowhere to go now. I whimpered and my eyes darted around too fast to actually see anything at all. Next to me, M'gann and Dick were saying stuff to each other, but I couldn't understand. Were they talking in a different language?

A warm hand pushed against my cheek, causing me to turn towards the source. I could see Dick's eyes were darting back and forth under his mask. There was the little hint of blue through his mask. Just seeing that familiar color that I'd stared at many times caused me to calm just a little bit.

He seemed to notice that I had calmed down by looking at him, so he took off his mask, revealing those beautifully pure and electric blue eyes. Respectfully, M'gann turned away so she wouldn't see Dick's face.

"You have me. Focus on me." He leaned forward a little, staring into the depths of my heart.

I studied him, which was my favorite hobby to do, and focused on his movements, on his voice, his eyes. I focused deeply on those swirling shades of blues that always dazzled me everytime I saw them. I loved the way his hair was overgrown just a bit so that it brushed the top of his eyebrows. I focused on every movement he made, I heard every breath he took. He was my life, my everything. I needed him, and he needed me. He was the shoulder that I leaned on when I needed someone's help, the wings that let me fly when I needed to escape.

I realized all of this as my breathing returned to normal, my heartbeat slowed, and I stopped shaking. The room enlarged to its actual vast size and the band dissipated from around my chest. That's when I realized, that this had happened before. When I had first come to this dimension and woke up in the medical wing of the Cave. I had had another anxiety attack because I thought my mom had found me, but Dick was there and he had calmed me down just like he had done now.

He was my anchor, and he had been my anchor from the very beginning, I just hadn't realized it.

Knowing this, I leaned forward and pushed a deep kiss to his lips. Surprised, he froze, but then moved his hand to my hair, running his gloved hands through my hair, soothing me. Through the kiss, I gave him my thanks and poured some of my worries into him. He responded with his lips, eager to help. Begrudgingly, I pulled back from him and opened my eyes. I mouthed my thanks to him again and looked back at M'gann who was still turned around to give us some privacy and so she wouldn't see Dick's face.

"I think you should put your mask back on so we can get going." I said to Dick.

He nodded and used his free hand to put his mask back on, concealing those beautiful eyes.

"M'gann, I'm ready." I tugged her hand and she turned towards us. We all sat in a triangle on the floor.

I completely ignored the shouting and yelling and the sound of things breaking from my memory. I didn't want to be sucked back in, and I didn't want to see anymore. Dick and M'gann didn't even glance away at the scene, no matter how loud it was. They stayed focused on each other.

"Okay, Nightwing, hold my hand." M'gann ordered. So we all were holding hands while sitting in a triangle. "Bethany." She turned to me. "Focus on the Cave. Think about the training platform."

I closed my eyes to help block out the distractions that were my other memories trying to pop up.

"Remind your mind that what this is, this kitchen and those people, are all a dream. Just a memory and a figment of telepathic powers." Her soothing voice floated through my ears.

"When you see a light, chase after it in your mind. The light is from my uncle J'ohnn, who is trying to pull us out from the other side. I can feel it." M'gann stopped talking to let me concentrate.

This is just a dream. This is just a memory. It isn't real.

Once I had convinced myself of that, a small light began to appear from the depths of my mind. I imagined myself getting closer to it. Soon, the sounds of the kitchen ruckus started to fade away and feel a mile away, much to my relief. The light got brighter and brighter, filling up my entire head, causing my eyes to burn, even though my eyelids were closed.

The light engulfed me, and I didn't feel Dick or M'gann's hand anymore. But instead of feeling anxious and scared, I felt entirely at peace, pure bliss. My past couldn't reach me anymore. I was safe.

 **Good luck in school this week!**

Overwhelmed, Underwhelmed, Whelmed.


	12. Chapter 10: Kiss and Tell

**I came back from my cruise with a nice long chapter full of romance for you guys (did I say romance?)**

 **Also came back with notifications from Wattpad. A lot of 'em.**

 **379 to be exact.**

 **WOW THANKS GUYS. I FEEL LOVED** ❤️❤️❤️

 **Okay back to the story:**

 **Bethany's POV**

I felt warm hands on both sides of my face, warming me from the outside in. My mind was so clear. No more muddled thoughts, I was just lying in bliss. Everything was so peaceful, quiet, relaxing. There was not a single sound -

"Bethany! Please, please, please wake up!" A female voice shouted in my ears, causing me to jolt. My face scrunched in annoyance. Why were these people yelling in my head? Why couldn't they just leave me alone? I wanted to sleep! Just sleep...

"Bethany, Princess." A deeper voice softly called. "Please, wake up."

That voice sent chills running down in my spine. Why did I suddenly want to get up? Something in my heart tugged until I started to feel something spread in my chest. A different kind of happiness that spread and made my heart flutter. My heartstrings began to thrum alive at the sound of that voice and the comforting hands that warmed my face.

"Please, Bethany." That same voice begged. "For me."

Those two words 'for me.' My heart suddenly snapped and in an instant, my eyes flew open, bright lights blinding me immediately. I gasped in fresh air, glorious fresh air filling my lungs.

"Woah, it's okay. I've got you. You're safe." Dick embraced me in his strong arms, holding me until my breathing slowed back down.

I rubbed my fuzzy eyes and looked around the room. The original Team had gathered around, fearful looks on their faces. I was sitting up in one of the white beds in the middle of the training room. I guess someone must have put us here after we got sucked into another dream.

"Oh God! You didn't wake up for another half hour after us! I was so scared!" M'gann's face was almost colorless, but eventually, a healthy green color began to seep back in.

"Geez! Don't scare us like that again!" Artemis punched my arm, causing a pain to run across my body. I winced and she actually smirked. I could have sworn, she was the spawn of the devil.

"Why am I always the last one to wake up?" I rubbed the back of my head as I sat up slowly. I was still seeing stars dancing across my vision and my head was throbbing.

"It is because you are the one that the memories take its toll on the most." Martian Manhunter stepped up next to me, his glowing eyes peering curiously at me. "I am relieved that you have woken up. How do you feel?"

"My head hurts."

"It will be like that for a little bit. But it will wear off with some sleep. I suggest that you stay in your old room at the Cave until your strength returns."

"Call for me if there's anything you need." Superboy gave me a brotherly pat on the shoulder, "I have superhearing, so I'll come right away."

"Thanks, Connor." I slowly pulled my legs over the side of the bed and staggered to stand up. The floor suddenly started tilting and I started leaning to the side, almost falling over, until strong arms wrapped around me, hoisting me into the air bridal style.

"Nightwing, put me down. I'm not a baby." I groaned. My arms had automatically encircled his neck to keep my balance, but this was embarrassing, and my head still really hurt.

"No. Not in your condition. I bet you wouldn't have been able to walk three feet from the bed." He said firmly, his chest rumbling as he spoke. I leaned into his comforting chest, trying to ignore the stares we were getting from the Team.

"Wow, they just got raised from the dead in less than a minute, and they're already canoodling." Wally whistled. "Nightwing's fast. Ow!"

"Shut up." Artemis grumbled after punching Wally, her favorite hobby. "And no one uses the word 'canoodling' anymore."

Dick chuckled and carried me all the way to my old room, humming a soothing tune. He finally set me down in my queen size bed and tucked the covers around me.

I looked over at him and said, "Are you going to leave?"

"Of course not, Princess. I'm staying right here. Right by your side." He crawled under the covers next to me and grinned, causing a blush to creep across my cheeks.

"Are you tired? Do you need to sleep?" He asked me while reaching to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. He smiled at his handiwork and studied my face.

"No, I'm not tired." That wasn't completely the truth. I wasn't tired, but my head was still hurting a little.

"What do you want to do?" He quirked an eyebrow and traced a finger up my arm and then back down.

"I don't know. Whatever you want to do." My arm started to tingle.

He moved his finger to my jaw and traced over my lips teasingly. "Do you know what I want to do?"

I did, but I didn't say anything. The blush that seeped into my cheeks told him everything. He wore that smirk I'd come to love and hate and scooted a little closer until our bodies were touching and our faces were inches apart. My heart never failed to pick up speed around him.

"I want to do this." He gently pressed his lips to mine, sending a warm race of electricity rushing through my veins, taking away some of my headache.

He backed up and looked into my eyes and whispered, "And this."

He pressed his lips more firmly to mine and started to move them. I responded, giving him my all and my heart. After all, he'd stolen it two years ago.

He was passionate in the kiss, pushing deeper and deeper until our bodies were molded together under the sheets. I wrapped my fingers through his slightly overgrown dark locks. Even though his hair was messy, I still loved it. He looked good in anything. Finally, he slowed down, pressing slow deep kisses to me and then he pulled back, breathless, and examining his handiwork. I saw a lust in his endlessly blue eyes, one that had me squirming under his gaze.

He moved back in and pushed a kiss at the corner of my mouth and then around to the other side, venturing further out and down my neck.

"I know this isn't the time to ask," he said in between kisses, "but what happened back there in the memory?"

Moment over.

I jerked back from him, putting some nice distance between us in the bed. Did he suddenly suspect something?

"Nothing happened."

"Really," he moved his hand out to rest his palm on my face. "Because if nothing had happened, then you wouldn't have pulled back like that."

I took his hand in mine and pulled it away from me. Think, Bethany! Think of an excuse!

"I-it was the, um, pain from the knife in my arm, so I started to lose my control on the memory." I responded. I pulled the covers up to my chin, like it could somehow conceal all the secrets that lay between us. My secrets.

"Are you sure? Because as I recall, you lost the grip on the memory and then you started to be able to feel the pain, not the other way around." Nightwing responded. He gave me a knowing look, one that let me know that he knew something was up.

Why didn't I tell him? Why couldn't I just let him know my weaknesses and let him in on the secret. I couldn't, I realized, because my pride wouldn't let me tell anyone. One of the leaders of the Team had such a big weakness? It's not that I didn't trust any of the other teammates to use this weakness against me, it's just that I didn't want them to view me as any weaker. What if they replaced me as leader because they thought my weakness was too great?

I shrugged my shoulders and acted casual. "You're just being too cautious. I think you're over examining things."

There was silence. A long and deadly silence. His crystal eyes were critical and they examined every inch of my facial expression. Although I kept my face blank, I felt exposed under his gaze. I knew that no matter what, Dick could see anything. He could see everything. He knew me too well and even if he didn't, he knew how to read people in general. But I held on to that slim possibility that he would just ignore his own instincts and just -

"Damnit, Bethany!" Dick sat up sharply, making me jump. "Just break down your pride already!"

I jerked to sit up and scooted away from him, surprised that he'd suddenly raised his voice, the indecision of whether or not to tell him was clearly in my eyes. Of course he knew. What had I expected? Dick knew everything about me, and he always found out.

He had only raised his voice once, and that was two years ago when I'd taken on Klarion the Witchboy by myself. He had never yelled again, but now he was angry.

"Why can't you just confide in me? What's so bad that you can't tell your own boyfriend, after all that we've been through?! Why can't you just-" Dick started to raise his voice and I couldn't help it anymore.

"I have anxiety!" I blurted. A huge weight came off of my chest, making me breathe out a sigh. Tears started to form at the corners of my eyes, threatening to spill over the rims.

He was silent, shocked, so I took that moment to continue.

"There!" I yelled at him, "Are you happy now? You pushed me so hard that I revealed something so close and personal about myself by force to you! Are you happy? Now you know Bethany's big bad secret!" I continued to yell at him. I was just angry, making me spew out all my anger.

"It's so stupid!" I continued, "Why does it have to be me?! Out of everyone in this world, it had to be someone who fights crime! Someone who has to be tough and strong all the time! It's ridiculous and stupid! I hate myself! I hate... I just don't know what to do...!" I stumbled, refusing to let that darn water fall from my eyes.

Dick was completely silent for a moment and then he shook his head and held my hands between us tenderly.

"Bethany, I'm sorry that I forced you to tell me. That was not the proper way." He sighed like it pained him to continue talking. "But you're hurting. Your family has made you like this, and you won't confide in anyone else. It's even worse to keep it bottled up without telling anyone. It festers inside of you and then you become rotten with secrets."

"I've confided in Batman! He's helping me!" I blurted. Whoops. The look on Dick's face told me that that was the wrong thing to say. He let go of my hands, letting them drop into my lap.

"You told Batman?" He asked slowly, his voice cold. I backed up a little, almost scared of him. His shoulders towered over me. He was the epitome of strength and power, his dark locks hung over his shadowed eyes as he said "But you didn't tell me?"

I suddenly wanted to hug him and cry and apologize, but I thought he would push me away, even though I was the one that had pushed him away first.

"I'm sorry, Dick. I'm sorry. I don't know... I just didn't want to seem weak... Or something like that..." I mumbled.

"Bethany," he said much softer. His eyes were a swirling blue, a pattern I hadn't seen in his eyes before. This was Serious Dick. He wasn't angry, he was just upset, or was that disappointment? "We may be heroes that save the world from intergalactic threats and criminals... But we aren't Gods. We're not immortal, we're just human. Even M'gann and, God, even Superboy. They may be aliens, but they're all humans on the inside. We all have flaws, but those flaws make us stronger when we use them, or when we make ourselves grow more to overcome those flaws. Your anxiety, it's from your family. If your family hadn't been like that to you in the past, then you wouldn't have grown so strong. You wouldn't have even come here or had been so good at martial arts or fighting."

"What, so it was a good thing that my family was abusive to me?!" I felt my temper rising. I was getting defensive again.

"No!" Dick yelled again. "Just - ugh!" he stopped and closed his eyes and let out a frustrated breath. Once he was calm, his eyes opened and they were a cold blue. "Just listen. I was just giving an example of how our flaws have made us stronger. You just have to be willing to admit them. No one is able to go through these things alone."

I was about to say that I had been alone when I was had gone through torture with my old family, but I caught myself. I didn't want him to yell at me anymore.

As if reading my mind, he addressed my unsaid statement. "You may have been alone during those times with your family, but were you happy? I doubt that."

"I was suicidal." I whispered.

There was a spark of sadness in his eyes when he heard that, but he continued talking. "It's hard to go through hard times alone, otherwise, you feel like dying. When my parents died," he paused, as if to regain his posture, "I almost died from sorrow, but Bruce came. He understood everything I'd been through. Everyone needs someone. That's why I'm here. And that's why I was upset when you didn't tell me.

"How could you confide in Bruce and not me? We've been together for almost two whole years! Sure, we've had our rough patches, but we've always gone through them and come out stronger." He moved forward and grabbed my hands and moved my face to look back up at him. "So why didn't you tell me? There's more than just 'you didn't want me to worry.'"

I looked at the floor. I hated this. I hated how we were fighting. Why? Why did I do it? It was because of my pride. These two years my pride has grown because of all the villains I've put away. I've been away from my step family and momster for so long that I'd grown so cocky. And with Nightwing and Aqualad already being leaders, I was about to become a leader very soon. The fact that one of the teams future leaders had an anxiety disorder would just make me sound weak. I just didn't want people to know I had this weakness. It just... Made me weaker... But now was when I needed to break down my pride.

I sighed and started to tell him from the beginning.

"I only just found out about my anxiety after we ran into Ash on the street a couple days ago. I hadn't experienced anything like that since two years ago, when I first woke up in the medical room after you had rescued me from Devastation. Now, I realize, every time I see my old family, I start to have these stupid panic attacks that render me helpless!" I continued confessing all the events and the happenings of this anxiety and my fears for the future with it.

"And Dick," I started hoarsely, "I'm sorry for not telling you. I'm sorry. I was only thinking of myself, not how you would see it."

Dick didn't once tell me how he felt about my anxiety. He didn't once tell me that it was okay, because we both knew it wasn't. Instead, he scooted closer and wrapped his hands on both sides of my face, encasing me in warmth.

"Bethany, I'll always be here for you. I'll always support you because we are in this together." I began to choke on some tears and he wiped them away and said, "We chose to be together, so now you have no choice. We have to be in this together."

I couldn't help the over pouring feelings of gratitude and love I had for him. They overwhelmed me and pushed me forward to press a deep kiss against his lips.

How could I have ever wanted to keep something from him? All he had ever done was support me from the beginning.

We lay next to each other, my head resting on his chest, and soon I fell into a safe sleep to the sound of his heartbeat. This was real, not some kind of memory or dream. He was real, and we were real.

 **Thanks for the patience. Next chapter to be posted sometime during the week...** 😅 **I decided that instead of three chapters, I'd give you one really long one and then another good one during the week. Hehe...**

 **Well I'm going on a Spring class trip and hopefully I'll be rooming with some people that I'm friends with so u can spend every night writing the chapter.**

 **Underwhelmed, Overwhelmed, Whelmed.**

 **-traught monster**


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